BLUE ASH, Ohio — Just outside of Cincinnati, crews are working on a building that in a few months will be what helps solve crimes faster.
What You Need To Know
- Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and crime lab will be in new $55M building in Blue Ash
- County coroner said the new building will give them extra space to start work on backlog of cases
- The building is set to open next year
They’re finishing the work on Hamilton County’s $55 million crime lab and coroner’s office.
“We spent a lot of time designing this place,” said Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Kode Sammarco.
She said there’ll be extra space to do autopsies, to store bodies and evidence. A double door will allow bigger pieces of evidence to be brought into the space.
She said it’s everything the department needs to start working on the backlog of cases they have now.
“We have a couple hundred cases that are backlogged in our firearms section, toxicology section. We’re a few hundred cases behind. DNA is probably creeping up to about 500 cases,” said Sammarco.
A problem is that the department needs a bigger crew to do the work it’ll take to catch up.
“We’re about 16 full-time people short of where we need to be,” said Sammarco.
The county commissioners said they don’t have the money for extra hires yet, but they hope to have it soon.
“This is a regional facility for so many things that other coroner’s offices cannot do in this region, so not only will we be able to add some money to the budget for additional hires, but the revenue generated here can be used to hire those individuals,” said presiding Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus.
It’ll be at least a few months before that happens as the new crime lab is set to be finished next year.
