LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – A new piece of technology is helping the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s office streamline DNA testing. The department now has a rapid DNA testing device that allows deputies to test DNA samples within 90 minutes. Before, they would have to wait months, sometimes more than a year.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart says she hopes it will help them solve crime more quickly including property crime. “What it does is, most things like residential burglary, car theft, all of those tend to be committed often by the same people over and over again. Sure there are occasional instances where they may steal one car or burglarize one house, but that’s generally not the case. So for us, it’s going to really widen our net, It’s going to help us connecting the dots where we haven’t been able to do,” said Sheriff Stewart.
Stewart says it will also help them see if a DNA sample has a match in another jurisdiction. Federal funding helped them pay for the new system.
