We’re also hearing Warren County School's response to claims of a 6-year-old boy with autism restrained and put in a closet at school. Plus, why some Wake County residents want more of your tax dollars to go toward schools. Watch WRAL-TV at 11 p.m., and search for these and other stories on WRAL.com.

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Strawberry farms in the Triangle are now open and ready for strawberry lovers to come and fill up their buckets.



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All assets associated with the tag: State Crime Lab

State Crime Lab Coverage

The $5 million renovations are expected to allow the lab to more quickly process testing evidence. It's expected to allow court cases to move more swiftly.

>> MOVING FORWARD. MATT TALHELM LIVE IN SANFORD, THANK YOU, MATT. >> A NEW RENOVATION THAT OPEN TODAY AT THE STATE CRIME LAB IN RALEIGH WILL HELP KEEP CRIMINALS OFF THE STREETS FASTER. THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD TODAY FROM STATE OFFICIALS AS THEY MARK THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR THIS NEW SPACE WRAL'S SARAH KRUEGER WAS THERE AND SHARES HOW THIS WILL SPEED UP PROSECUTION. >> COURT CASES RELY ON EVIDENCE AND A LOT OF THAT EVIDENCE COMES HERE TO THE STATE CRIME LAB IN RALEIGH TO BE TESTED. NOW, THIS NEW RENOVATION MEANS THERE'S SPACE FOR MORE SCIENTISTS HERE AND THEY CAN GET THROUGH THOSE CASES MORE QUICKLY INSIDE THIS LAB. SCIENTISTS ARE TESTING EVIDENCE, BLOOD AND URINE SAMPLES FOR DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. THIS IS A NEW DESIGN FOR THE DRUG CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY WING. ONE THAT HAS MORE SPACE AND AN IMPROVED WORKFLOW. WE MOVED TO A CUBICLE FORM AFTER ALL. THIS IS WHICH DOUBLED OUR AS FAR AS HIRES. POOR ANALYST FOR THE CASE WORK. >> AND WE MOVED TO A MORE LAY OUT FOR THE LABORATORY SPACE AND ARCHITECTURE ALLOWS FOR A MORE RATIONAL FLOW OF THE EVIDENCE. SEE, YOU'RE JUST NOT WASTING TIME GOING FROM ONE OFFICE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OFFICE TO BACK. ONE OF THE BIG WORRIES IN THE COURTHOUSE IS THAT THERE'S A BACKLOG OF CASES. SPECIAL DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL BAZZELLE ENDURE EXPLAINS THAT THE ABILITY TO WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY IN THIS LAB MEANS COURT CASES WILL MOVE MORE SWIFTLY GETTING CRIMINALS OFF THE STREETS FASTER, YOU KNOW, WANT TO HAVE >> A SITUATION WHERE YOU'RE WAITING ON INFORMATION FROM A LAB TO BE ABLE TO PROVE YOUR CASE. AND SO WITH THIS SPACE WITH ADDITIONAL PEOPLE THAT WORK AT THE LAB AND THE ADDITIONAL SIDES IT'S DONE HERE. THE CASES COME BACK QUICKER AND THAT HELPS CLEAR COURT DOCKETS OF ACTIVELY PROSECUTE PEOPLE FASTER AND ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC THIS UNIT IN THE CRIME LAB HAS THE HIGHEST WORKLOAD IN FISCAL YEAR. 2021, 3 QUARTERS OF ALL EVIDENCE WAS HANDLED BY THE DRUG AND TOXICOLOGY SCIENTISTS. THE WORK PERFORMED IN THIS SWING IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL WITH THE FENTANYL CRISIS FACING OUR STATE. BUT HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE LOSE 8. >> PEOPLE EVERY DAY TO A FENTANYL OVERDOSE ARE SCIENTISTS WILL BE ABLE TO TEST EVIDENCE SWIFTLY AND PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT WITH THE ANALYSIS THEY NEED TO GET DANGEROUS. DRUG TRAFFICKERS OFF OF OUR STREETS PRIOR TO THIS RENOVATION. THE LAB SPACE HERE WAS ROUGHLY 30 YEARS OLD. THE FUNDING TO DO THIS ABOUT 5 MILLION DOLLARS CAME FROM THE

Renovation at State Crime Lab in Raleigh expected to bring more efficient results

Renovation at State Crime Lab in Raleigh expected to bring courts more efficient results

The renovations are expected to allow the lab to more quickly process testing evidence, which will allow court cases to move more swiftly.

It can take months for police and prosecutors to get DNA results from the North Carolina State Crime Lab. A new lab could cut turnaround times for DNA evidence from a couple months to a couple hours. 

QUESTIONS FROM THE JANUARY 6th COMMITTEE. MORE DETAILS COMING UP. BACK TO YOU. >>> WAKE COUNTY IS OPENING ITS OWN DNA LAB TO PROCESS EVIDENCE FROM CRIMES. DNA HAS REPORTED ON THE BACKLOGS AT THE STATE CRIME LAB, WHERE IT CAN TAKE MONTHS FOR STATE PROSECUTORS TO GET RESULTS. NOW THE NEW LAB COULD CUT THE TURN AROUND TIME TO JUST A FEW HOURS. >> Reporter: CONSTRUCTION CREWS ARE ALREADY TURNING THIS FORMER PHOTOGRAPHY ROOM INTO A DNA LAB. THE SPACE INSIDE THE CITY- COUNTY BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION IN RALEIGH WILL PROCESS EVIDENCE FROM CRIMES IN WAKE COUNTY. RIGHT NOW THAT GETS SENT TO THE STATE CRIME LAB. >> WE'VE GOT TO STAND IN LINE AND WAIT FOR THESE OTHER 98 COUNTIES. WE'VE GOT TO COMPETE FOR THOSE RESOURCES. >> Reporter: THE LATEST REPORT SHOWS THE STATE LAB TIME FOR RESULTS WENT FROM 115 DAYS IN 2017 TO 222 DAYS LAST YEAR. THE COUNTY'S OWN LAB COULD BRING FASTER JUSTICE FOR CRIME VICTIMS. >> THIS IS JUST A MOVE FORWARD IN OUR ABILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT MEETS THE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR GROWING COMMUNITY. >> Reporter: THAT'S THE HOPE FOR VICTIMS' ADVOCATES. >> NOT KNOWING IS JUST SO

New state DNA lab could help police, prosecutors process DNA faster 

A DNA lab being built at the Wake County City-County Bureau of Identification (CCBI) that could be a big factor in helping solve cold cases amid a backlog of untested DNA kits.

New Wake DNA lab could help solve cold cases, even prevent crimes

Attorney General Josh Stein said the State Crime Lab could solve more cases if it had enough money to hire a dozen more scientists to run DNA tests.

THE ARREST IN THE CASE 9 YEARS AFTER SHE WAS KILLED TONIGHT, TEAM COVERAGE TAKING YOU INSIDE THE LAB WHERE THE DNA MATCH HAPPENED, LEARNING NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE MAN UNDER ARREST, THE CRIME LAB SAYS WITH HELP IT COULD SOLVE MORE OF THESE CASE THIS IS IS A STORY YOU'LL ONLY SEE ON WRAL, CHRIS TOOK A TOUR OF THAT FACILITY, WHAT'S SLOWING THEM DOWN THEY HAVE APPROACHED STATE LAWMAKERS ASKING THEM TO BUDGET MONEY TO HELP 12 THOSE SCIENTISTS, THAT THOSE EXTRA HANDS WOULD GO A LONG WAY. >> WE ALL WANT TO HELP JUSTICE FOR THOSE VICTIMS. >> THE STATE CRIME LAB DIRECTOR SAYS HIS TEAM MEMBERS WORK AS HARD AS THEY CAN BUT THEY HAVE THEIR LIMITS. >> THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SO MANY SUBMISSIONS THAT COME IN THE DOOR EVERY DAY, MOST CASES ARE TAKING ABOUT A YEAR AT THIS POINT. >> IN FACT, THEY'VE HAD TO OUT SOURCE SOME OF THEIR OLDER DNA TEST KITS IN ONE YEAR THE LAB RECEIVED A LITTLE MORE THAN 800 SUBMISSIONS TO 1800. >> THAT'S A GOOD THING, THAT MEANS WE'RE TEST MORE KIDS AND SOLVING MORE CRIMES, MUCH LIKE DURING THE PROCESS OF DOING FOR THE 2012 MURDER, HE SAYS THEY NEED 12 SCIENTISTS THE BACKLOG OF DNA KITS IS GROWING AND NOT SLOWING DOWN. >> IT IS GOING TO TAKE LONGER AND LONGER TO DO THAT WORK FOR ME IT IS JUST ABOUT JUSTICE AND HELPING THOSE FAMILIES AND SURVIVORS. >> I DID REACH OUT TO MULTIPLE STATE LEADERS FOR THIS STORY, THE ONLY PERSON TO GET BACK TO ME WAS STATE REPRESENT OF MOORE COUNTY SAYS HE AND OTHER JUSTICE SUPPORT THE LAB, DON'T GET IN TO SPECIFIC WITH BUDGETING MONEY WITH HIRING THOSE ADDITIONAL SCIENTISTS.

NC crime lab can't keep up with amount of requested DNA testing

State Crime Lab, DNA testing

AG: State Crime Lab could solve more cases with more funding, more scientists

Sex assault evidence collected by law enforcement agencies across North Carolina can now be tracked by investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys and victims through a bar code system, Attorney General Josh Stein said Thursday.

State Crime Lab launches rape kit tracking system

Rape kit, sex assault kit, sex assault testing

Attorney General Josh Stein discusses the state's new sexual assault kit tracking system.

AG discusses rape kit tracking system

Attorney General Josh Stein

The House gave final approval Tuesday to creating a system to track rape kits collected as evidence by law enforcement agencies statewide.

Rape kit tracking system gets final House OK

Law enforcement agencies across North Carolina have more than 15,000 rape kits in evidence that have never been tested, according to a report released Wednesday.