BERKS COUNTY, Pa. – A former ambulance that responded to many emergencies over the years has found a new purpose.
“It’s a mobile crime lab on wheels, so we can have all the equipment that we need to fully process almost any type of crime scene we may encounter,” explained Det. Sgt. Justin Morrow with the Berks County District Attorney’s Office and crime lab director.
Berks County is receiving $150,000 from the state to buy and upfit a crime scene response vehicle.
“It’s our primary crime scene response vehicle. Just the other day it was brought out twice, almost from one scene to another, and it really gives us a place, in all weather environments, to be able to work inside,” Morrow said.
Updates will include top of the line technology,
“We’re going to have a screen in there that we can view drone footage, we can view photographs before we even leave a scene,” said the detective.
As well as storage space, and one more luxury investigators don’t often get.
“It’s even going to have a toilet facility, and that is something we don’t always have the luxury of at a crime scene. We could be somewhere for 12 hours in a shift for an entire day,” Morrow said.
No matter how big or small the scene is, investigators say this will help them comb through evidence more effectively, anytime, anywhere.
“We don’t have the luxury of leaving a crime scene. We have to maintain the integrity of that scene. Stay there. We can’t just leave and return later without having that scene protected.” added Morrow.
“This is a project that’s going to benefit the entire County of Berks and beyond at times.”