The City of Fishers Police Department is the only municipal law enforcement agency in Indiana with high-tech forensic capabilities, such as rapid DNA testing, digital imagery that identifies fingerprints on items like bullet casings, and special equipment that helps investigators see fingerprints on various surfaces, such as paper.
FPD recently opened its Forensic Services Unit lab to members of the media to show how the equipment helps local law enforcement investigate and solve crimes.
Lt. Jim Hawkins of the FPD Forensic Services Unit said although city law enforcement has had a forensics unit for many years, it only recently added some of the high-tech equipment to the team’s arsenal.
In 2022 we began the process of implementing rapid DNA in the Fisher Police Department,” Hawkins said, noting that it “went live” with that ability in 2023. “Rapid DNA allows us to take single-source DNA samples … and allows us to generate a DNA profile in 90 minutes.
The department collects DNA samples through in-house equipment and then has those samples processed to create a DNA profile through a partnership with Thermo Fishers Scientific — which has laboratories in Fishers. Some profiles are clear, but others require a little more expertise, Hawkins said. To that end, the city has another partnership with the University of Indianapolis’ Department of Anthropology to analyze profiles that need a DNA scientist’s expert eye.
Hawkins highlighted a case the city solved through its rapid DNA testing — a car crash in which one of the people involved was found in the passenger seat and claimed the driver had run away.
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