Crime & Safety

Bensalem First to Pilot 90-Minute DNA Testing

The Bensalem Township Police Department is the first local law enforcement agency in the country to pilot technology which produces DNA results within 90 minutes.

In the time it takes to watch the average movie, Bensalem Police can have the test results of DNA samples. 

Bensalem's Township Police Department Director of Public Safety, Fred Harran, attributes the piloting two weeks ago of a 90-minute DNA testing system to successfully linking a suspect in a recent string of thefts from vehicles. The technology is so cutting-edge, Harran told reporters Tuesday, that the screens showing six break-ins–which had since grown to seven–weren't as up-to-date as the new rapid fire equipment. 

"We went from 12 months to 30 days to 90 minutes," Harran said of the time shift in DNA results with the police department's 30-day trial of Bode Technology's “BodeHITS – Rapid DNA.” "We're stopping the crime and the criminal, literally in their tracks."

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Amy Jeanguenat, Bode Technology's vice president, director of forensic operations, told Patch that the Bensalem Township Police Department is the first in the nation to pilot the rapid results testing, which she said costs police departments a one-time fee of $100,000 plus $100 to run a sample. 

At least for now, Harran told reporters during a press conference and DNA testing demonstration that the technology is being offered to Bensalem at "zero cost to us." 

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"This is all 100 percent drug forfeiture funds," Harran said, adding that he would be seeking grants to continue covering the expense. 

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said he needed to research if funds recouped from drug dealing could continue to fund it.

If not, Heckler said he'd have no problem asking the commissioners to help fund the expense "as the economy gets better."

"We've got to prove the concept demonstrates its value," Heckler said. 

Bensalem Police had a funding commitment from Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo on Tuesday. 

"We will find the money in our budget to fund this type of operation," he said. 

And while Bensalem may be first to try the DNA testing advancements, Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Weintrobe said within the next month "at least" 12 other Bucks County police departments–including Plumstead Township Police–are expected to try out the technology. 

"There is an urgency to solving crime," Weintrobe said, noting that Bensalem's in-house lab for DNA testing helped solve a case recently at the Bucks County Correctional Facility. "It is not the wave of the future. It is the present." 

Harran said the DNA testing works in conjunction with the police department's local DNA database, which has been in existence since 2010. Since then, Harran said police have amassed roughly 6,500 DNA profiles, which played a role in more than 100 criminal investigations. 

As more police departments use the system, Harran said DNA databases could be shared, increasing the likelihood of finding matches among suspected criminals. 

Many of the cases with DNA evidence were property crimes where DNA testing was traditionally not feasible, officials said.  

Having a local database had guaranteed DNA analysis and results within a 30- day period previously. This turnaround time has made crime investigations more efficient, dramatically cutting down on the six to nine, or even 12 months it would take to previously obtain DNA results. Lorton, Va.-based Bode Technology maintains and analyzes all of Bensalem’s DNA profiles.

With the new accelerated testing program, Bensalem Police will have the ability to have real time results with DNA samples, in as little as 90 minutes, offering law enforcement the ability to test DNA evidence from a crime scene.  

Harran said burglaries are down 47 percent in 2013 as compared to last year. Thefts, and thefts from vehicle are also down too, he said. 

"We've been showing decreases in burglary and property crimes the last few years," he said. 

Besides matching DNA and leading to quicker arrests, Harran said the tool will also be used to clear innocent people.

"If you're innocent, your DNA shouldn't be on the knife that robbed the 7-Eleven," Harran said, referring to a recent arrest in which the 90-minute DNA testing was used. 


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