INDIANAPOLIS — After decades of toiling away in windowless offices at the old jail, the scientists and technicians in Marion County’s crime lab are ready to move.
“We've needed a new facility for many, many years,” said Richard Amberger, director of the Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency, the crime lab’s official name.
“I came here in 2007 and they needed a new facility when I came here,” Amberger said.
That long-awaited move will finally happen later this year. The crime lab and the Marion County Coroner’s Office will share a new $25 million facility on the Criminal Justice Campus.
Not much has changed in the crime lab since it first opened in 1986.
It started in a basement at the old Marion County Jail and later moved to offices on the ground floor.
The crime lab analyzes more than 65,000 pieces of evidence every year but space has been limited.
The hallways and offices are cramped and filled with file cabinets and measuring devices.
“We're in a jail facility, something not specifically built for a forensic lab,” said Tim Spears, supervisor of the firearms unit. “Our new facility is specifically designed and built for our needs instead of us fitting into a space designed for other needs.”
The new facility will have a shooting range, so the firearms examiners will no longer have to leave to test fully automatic and high-powered firearms.
The new building has more room for the crime scene specialists too, including bays where they’ll be able to process vehicles linked to crimes.
There’s no room to test vehicles here.
Currently, cars that might have blood, hair, fibers and other evidence are all processed in an area behind Indianapolis Animal Care and Control on South Harding Street.
The biology unit, which tests and matches DNA, works out of the coroner’s office, 521 W. McCarty St.
The crime lab's 75 employees will come together under one roof. Construction is underway on the new building located next to the Community Justice Center.
So long as nothing slows down construction, Amberger said the lab is scheduled to move in September.
After so many years of working in the closed and secure jail, Amberger said crime lab workers are looking forward to seeing some sunlight when they sit at their desks.
“One of the big things is a lot of the analytical sections never have windows,” Amberger said. “Just having a window is such a boost for morale.”
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on X/Twitter: @vicryc.
