County to spend $20M to add more space for DNA testing, forensics. Here’s why

The center that provides forensic testing and coroner and medical examiner services for Sedgwick County and surrounding areas will undergo a $20 million expansion, including the addition of a new DNA lab.

County commissioners approved the expansion for the Regional Forensic Science Center on Wednesday.

Demand for the center’s services have increased in recent years, according to the county, necessitating the expansion.

“The capacity is just not there in [that] space to allow these individuals, these experts, these scientists, to do the work that they need to do to deliver justice to this community,” Commissioner Ryan Baty said.

The expansion includes an addition for a DNA lab and a remodel of the existing building at 11th and Minneapolis in Wichita.

The need for a bigger space to process DNA has been an issue for several years, often causing backlogs for testing for law enforcement agencies.

The county will sell bond debt in 2028 to reimburse itself for the expansion.

Commissioner Jim Howell was the lone vote against the expansion, citing that the DNA lab will be built on a lot adjacent lot from the main building.

“Our footprint needs to be expanded to accommodate the activities that are happening in that building, that I do agree with,” Howell said. “I just don’t like the location, and I don’t like the fact that this is going to be on two sides of the street, essentially, I think that’s a problem.”