An investigator using the rapid DNA testing system.
Credit: Bensalem police
Newtown-area police will have the opportunity to be among the first law enforcement agencies in the country to use a a new 90-minute rapid DNA testing system.
On Thursday, Bensalem police and Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub unveiled the new system that will be available to officers from all of the county’s 39 police departments.
Bensalem officials said their police department is the first in the country using IntegenX RapidHIT ID.
The IntegenX RapidHIT ID system uses DNA collected from mouth swabs to generate “lab-quality forensic DNA profiles in less than 90 minutes using well-established forensic DNA extraction methods,” officials said.
“This type of DNA analysis will lead to suspects being identified through forensic testing in real time, which will result in criminals being removed from the street today to prevent tomorrow’s victim,” they added.
“This is real life CSI,” Weintraub told NewtownPANow.com. “We’re finally catching up to what you see on TV.”
The system is a miniaturized version of labs used by Bode Cellmark Forensics, federal agencies and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Weintraub said his office is prepared to use IntegenX RapidHIT ID DNA matches in court and has South Carolina case law to back up any objections.
Police and prosecutors will still send DNA samples from major crimes to Bode Cellmark Forensics and government operated lab, many of which have months-long backlogs.
While the new IntegenX RapidHIT ID system has it’s limitations on what evidence can be tested, it has plenty of potential in Bucks County and will help either convict a suspect or clear someone alleged to have committed a crime.
“If a case is pressing enough, we’re going to use this box,” Weintraub said.
The cost of the new system was paid for through a grant Bensalem police received.
“There’s a real cost involved, but there is no price to put on safety,” the district attorney said.
Currently, Bensalem works with police departments around the county to operate a local DNA database with 20,000 samples. The database has been used to assist in roughly 550 criminal investigations, Bensalem police said.
Police get a potential suspect to agree to a waiver before taking a DNA sample. In some cases, a search warrant can be used to obtain DNA swabs if the person police want to sample is not cooperating and a reasonable case can be made before a judge. However, there has been some concerns raised about the system and whether it could violate the Fourth Amendment.
Tullytown was the first department to use Bensalem’s new rapid DNA testing system. Daniel Doyle, Tullytown’s chief of police, said his department used the IntegenX RapidHIT ID system to test DNA and solve a recent vehicle theft. The system used a sample from the suspect to rapidly analyze DNA and match the crime to the alleged perpetrator.
In the future, Weintraub said he hopes to see similar systems in the central and upper sections of the county to allow for even quicker testing.
