Advances move ahead DNA testing

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma City Police Department will soon be able to do its own D-N-A testing. <br><br>Equipment will be purchased for about $200,000 from the 1987 bond issue when the fiscal

Tuesday, June 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma City Police Department will soon be able to do its own D-N-A testing.

Equipment will be purchased for about $200,000 from the 1987 bond issue when the fiscal year begins on July first.

Joyce Gilchrist is the head chemist at the O-C-P-D forensics laboratory. Gilchrist says recent advancements in D-N-A analysis have made it possible to determine a person's D-N-A using very small samples of saliva, sweat, blood skin and hair.

Gilchrist says in-house analysis should save the department money. It costs between $250 and $450 dollars to have samples analyzed at an outside lab. And detectives often request testing on dozens of suspects.

She says turnaround will be faster also, with in-house lab results available overnight.