A midstate county may be the first in the state to use an in-house DNA testing device to aid investigations.
The Cumberland County District Attorney's office is not alone in using rapid DNA testing in criminal investigations, but it is one of the first to purchase an instrument to let them do the test in the office.
District Attorney Skip Ebert said it could dramatically increase the number of suspects identified each year.
"On murder cases and rape cases, DNA is very important. The problem, of course, is that it takes a long time to process," Ebert said. "This new procedure allows you to do it in-house and then you send it out for confirmation later."
Having the technology in-house will allow prosecutors to use DNA evidence in property crimes, as well as violent crimes.
Ebert said the county saw about 3,000 property crimes last year.
The device cost $20,000.
