Construction continues on state crime lab set for 2026 completion
'We're trying to meet those demands,' said Capt. Chad Guidry.
A digital tour of the facility shows the new additions, including a dividable conference room, new meeting spots, outside features, and a new indoor gun range.
'You may hear that and go, 'They're going to just go in there and shoot guns,'' Guidry said. 'No. We actually can go distance determination, gunshot residue, we can fire larger calibers inside without having to go to a range offsite, or something like that.'
The space will be double the current crime lab and be the biggest in Louisiana.
'The current crime lab is 53,000 square feet,' Guidry said. 'This is 118,000 square feet.'
Louisiana has more than 11,000 unsolved murder cases dating back to 1965, according to a database posted by Project Cold Case. Guidry said more space means more analysts, and that could lead to more cases being solved.
'Adding more personnel down the road will help with that,' Guidry said. 'As science and technology advance, it'll make things a little bit easier.'
Officials broke ground at the site in 2023, when the state stared down a large case backlog. Guidry said LSP is now doing better in that respect, but it was a pressing issue at the time.
'It takes more personnel, it takes more equipment, different types of equipment,' Retired Col. Lamar Davis said at the time.
Construction is much further along than it was then, and Guidry said the foundation will be visible within the next two months. He said the initial $100 million estimate still stands. If the construction company informs LSP that costs have increased, Guidry said there would be tweaks to keep it at that total cost.
'We'd look at some cutbacks,' Guidry said. 'The cutbacks may be changing some of the shell pieces to the building, not adding a certain feature.'
Guidry said taxpayers are not directly funding this project. Instead, it is funded through a bond agreement.
The project has a 2026 completion estimate, but newer technologies are being implemented at the current lab. Guidry said LSP cannot simply wait on the new lab to be finished before adding that equipment.
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