Broken Arrow Police Unveil New Forensic Crime Lab

Broken Arrow police unveiled their new crime lab Tuesday, and officers tell News On 6 the space helps examiners complete the thousands of scenes they process each year.

What used to be a small 600 square-foot room by the jail, is now a 1,400 square-foot lab connected to the department. Officer Chris Walker says the added space allows the department to process multiple scenes at one time.

"Anything we can do to make our job more efficient, saves us time and allows our officers to get back on patrol," Walker told News on 6.

The space includes an office, a forensics room, and a garage for vehicle examinations. Officer Walker says the garage is the most helpful new addition in the lab.

"It’s the most important part because it allows them to not have to go to a third-party place and make sure they bring all the equipment with them when their equipment is already here," Walker explains.

Officers say the garage is also state of the art because it allows crime scene investigators to examine cars in a light controlled environment – such as having bright light to emulate daytime, or no light for night.

The technology doesn't stop there - officers can now upload scene videos and photos from their cars. Crime scene investigators even showed me how to examine my own print with special powder. There are two new items added - a cabinet to dry wet pieces of evidence and a new vent hood.

The entire project was six years in the making - made possible by a nearly half million-dollar bond.

“We are trying to good stewards of the public's money” says Walker. “We are trying to spend it as efficiently as we can to help our officers work better.”

Walker says there are no immediate plans to expand the lab, but he says that could be a possibility in the future.