Better Denver Bonds will pay for the construction of a $36 million state-of-the-art police crime lab at 1371 Cherokee St.
Ground was broken this morning for the lab, which should be complete by the middle of next year.
The lab, about four-times larger that the department’s existing facility in the police administration building, allows the the Denver Crime Laboratory Bureau to bring all of its units to a single location and has room for on-site vehicle examinations that now are done at external police offices, the city said in a news release.
“Denver is an internationally recognized leader in DNA and forensic science and this facility will finally give the crime scene investigators and scientists a work space that corresponds with that international reputation,” District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said.
The building also will connect to the police administration complex, and will have a secure connection between the lab and the Denver Evidence Bureau. Last year, Denver’s crime lab handled more than 10,000 cases.
The Denver Crime Lab Bureau includes the following units: crime scene investigation, forensic chemistry and trace evidence, firearms and toolmarks, latent prints, forensic imaging and video and photographic analysis, forensic biology and DNA, quality assurance and crime scene volunteer units.
Denver Public Works is the project manager. Durrant Smith Group is the architectural design firm for the lab and JE DUNN is the construction firm.
