SEMO Crime Lab awarded $400,000 in federal funds

Nearly $400,000 in federal grant money from the Department of Justice has been awarded to Southeast Missouri State University for ongoing renovation and expansion of the Southeast Missouri Crime Laboratory in Cape Girardeau.

For 27 years, the lab has been confined to a 2,000-square-foot house on campus that has become inadequate for the nearly 4,000 cases processed for area law enforcement each year. The lab assists 21 counties and has processed nearly 60,000 cases since it opened. The new facility on South Ellis Street has been undergoing renovation to prepare the 7,000-square-foot structure for operation later this year.

This is the second of three phases of funding totaling more than $2.1 million acquired for the crime lab. This phase of renovation includes backup power, a security system, and equipment and software to improve the lab's ability to track, record and evaluate evidence.