Lansing — Michigan State Police will close its 50-year-old Northville Forensic Science Laboratory because of roughly $20 million in repair and maintenance costs expected over the next several years.
The laboratory’s services and staff will be transferred to the department’s other labs, according to a Tuesday statement from the Michigan State Police.
“While this closure will reduce the number of laboratories in our statewide laboratory system, it will not result in the layoff of any staff or a reduction in any services for our criminal justice partners,” MSP’s director, Col. James. F. Grady II, said in a statement.
Grady said the department’s forensic science division remained “committed to providing high-quality and timely forensic science services to our criminal justice partners.”
State Rep. Mike Mueller, a Linden Republican and former law enforcement officer who’s been critical of MSP leadership, called the closure an example of the leaders’ “failure to prioritize the agency’s core mission.”
“While MSP faces staffing shortages and growing demands for forensic services, resources have been directed elsewhere,” Mueller said. “Closing a critical crime lab is not a funding problem — it is a leadership and prioritization problem. The people of Michigan deserve a state police leadership focused on fighting crime, supporting investigations, and protecting public safety.”
The Northville lab’s closure date is contingent on the completion of a 10,000-square-foot addition to the MSP’s Detroit lab, which may take a year or more to construct.
The Northville lab was established in 1976, is about 28,000 square feet and has about 60 staff members, according to MSP’s website. It handles crime scene response and testing of seized drugs, latent prints, DNA and trace evidence.
Other MSP lab locations include ones in Detroit, Lansing, Bridgeport, Grand Rapids, Marquette and Grayling.
The state’s Lansing lab, by comparison, is 83,000 square feet and was established in 2001; the Grand Rapids lab, established in 2021, is 115,000 square feet; and the Detroit lab, built in 2014, is 52,000 square feet.
The decision, the department said, is based on an assessment of the lab that considered the facility’s age, financial investments needed and alternatives.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan State Police to close a 50-year-old forensic crime lab
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
