By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis – The St. Louis Police Department has cut the ribbon on a new, $8.5 million crime lab.
The three-story facility is located next door to police headquarters downtown, and replaces cramped quarters on the third floor that had not been updated since 1972.
One of the engineers who designed the lab, Bob Barry with Burns and McDonnell, says the forensics lab will more than double the police department's current space for investigation and study.
"This puts St. Louis way ahead of other comparable cities," Barry said. "This is a state of the art facility that will be a showcase in the Midwest certainly for crime lab facilities."
The forensics lab is being financed through a bond issue approved by St. Louis voters in 1998.