Baltimore County?s police department will receive two grants to fund new equipment for analyzing forensic evidence and tracking stolen property, authorities announced Tuesday.
A $244,837 federal grant will replace the county?s two DNA replication devices, helping to chip away at the county?s backlog of 68 forensic cases, officials said. Law enforcement officials gathered at a news conference Tuesday said replacement equipment would quadruple the number of samples they can process at one time.
“It?s just like cars,” said Lynnda Watson, the county?s forensic chemistry supervisor. “Every year they come out with an upgraded model.”
The county?s police department has used forensic evidence to close at least 11 cold rape and homicide cases so far this year, including charging 55-year-old Alphonso William Hill with six rapes they say he committed in Towson between 1978 and 1989.
Investigators have collected evidence from at least 20 other unsolved rapes that occurred in nearby areas they also suspect Hill of committing.
Still, the county?s existing devices, purchased in 1999 and 2001, can only process one sample at a time.
“It?s not like ?CSI? ? we can?t get it done in 45 minutes withcommercials,” said Irv Litofsky, director of the department?s forensic services. “These cases take awhile. They can sit for months before we have the resources to process them.”
The department also will receive an $88,719 state grant to automate reporting for pawn shops, helping police to identify stolen property more quickly.
Pawn-shop owners already are required to report all merchandise but typically send descriptions of items to police via fax, creating a 48- to 72-hour delay, said Capt. Don Roby, commander of the department?s Crimes Against Property section.
The electronic database will link goods at the county?s 28 pawn shops with data from the state, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County and Harford County police departments, officials said.
“Once we get this online, it will be instantaneous,” Roby said.
The county will contribute $29,599 toward the project from its asset forfeiture fund, officials said.
Examiner Staff Writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this report.
