Bay Area center has helped revolutionize forensic DNA technology

TAMPA, Fla. - Forensic technology has been the key to solving criminal cases around the country.

Over the years, forensics have come to the forefront, from DNA to digital technology.

A lot of the advancements in forensic technology have happened in the Tampa Bay area at the Global Forensic and Justice Center in Pinellas County.

The Global Forensic and Justice Center, which partners with Florida International University, trains law enforcement agencies, members of the Department of Defense and other agencies to use cutting edge forensic technology in their daily operations.

The center has broken barriers since it opened nearly 30 years ago.

"It’s actually quite mind-boggling," Kirk Grates, a Research Project Manager with Forensic Chemistry at GFJC, said. "I never would’ve thought technology would advance as much as it has."

The concept of forensic DNA technology was much less advanced, even ten years ago.

"When I started, it was like, no one would ever think of DNA being out of a laboratory," Robert O’Brien, a forensic biology lead with the GFJC said.

O’Brien says it wasn’t until the last decade that it changed, with the introduction of rapid DNA technology.

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"You’re basically putting your swab inside of a cartridge, inserting the cartridge into the instrument, typing in the relevant information and walking away," O’Brien said. "An hour and a half later, you come, a DNA profile, which is the same level as what’s being produced in the lab."

Instead of having to send DNA evidence off to a lab and wait days, weeks or even months for results, the rapid DNA machine can bring answers directly to a crime scene.

"You can now take this device anywhere," O’Brien said. "It's being used in mass disaster situations. It was used in Surfside, that happened in Miami."

The evolution is seen, from forensic DNA technology, to chemistry and toxicology.

Grates says new technology over the years has revolutionized the ability to test substances for illicit drugs or explosive materials.

"Law enforcement, border patrol, military, hazmat teams can utilize this technology to identify those unknown chemicals within 15 minutes," Grates said.

Grates says they train agencies like the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to use this cutting edge technology that can detect drugs or explosives right on the scene, instead of having to send samples off to a lab and wait for as long as a month for answers.

In the last two years, Grates says another piece of technology can scan a substance from up to about 6 feet away. It can detect drugs or chemicals within seconds, and without someone having to touch something that could be deadly.

"Of which can be illicit drugs, chemical warfare agents, explosives, toxic industrial chemicals," Grates said.

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Some of the fastest-changing forensic technology is right in our hands. Forensic digital technology has become an integral part of investigations and operations, as digital technology advances on its own.

"Everybody has a phone," Ricky Ruckman, a Technical Trainer with the GFJC, said. "People have drones. People have those electronic devices in your house. Even things that you're doing in your car can be digitally recorded."

Ruckman says digital forensics can give you more information about the future than biometrics and DNA.

"With digital forensics, you can get more of an idea of who they are, what they're thinking or what their motives were," Ruckman said.

Experts with the GFJC say the evolution of forensic technology is only beginning.

"I think the future with DNA testing is to take these devices, obviously make them smaller and faster," O’Brien said.

From saving lives to solving cases, experts say they expect the advancements to keep improving.

"I think it's limitless," Ruckman said.

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