Arlington Heights police to send evidence to different lab

The Arlington Heights Police Department will soon begin sending its crime scene evidence to the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Lab in Vernon Hills for processing instead of the Illinois State Police crime lab.

The village board this week agreed to a $104,042 one-year membership in hopes of improving turnaround times for submitted evidence. Police officials say the average examination time for fingerprints is 49 days at the Vernon Hills lab, compared to several months or longer at the state lab. Toxicology examinations are less than three weeks.

Police said the transition will be seamless, since the regional crime lab uses the same evidence tracking software already in place in Arlington Heights.

The department will pay for the one-year membership using asset forfeiture funds.