By Andrea Lannom
Register-Herald Reporter
BECKLEY —
Congressman Nick Rahall and law enforcement officials from several counties gathered at the Raleigh County sheriff’s office Saturday to tour a new, state-of-the-art crime scene van.
Rahall says it’s the first crime scene van in the state and he has seen a direct need for this type of equipment. Not only will officials be able to speed up prosecution, he says, but the van will also benefit the community.
“They will be able to gather and disseminate evidence faster and have a speedier prosecution,” he said. “People of the community will directly benefit from this.”
Law enforcement officials will be able to conduct investigations from the “mobile lab” and also be able to connect with the Regional Organized Crime Center to run information on the scene and turn evidence into suspects. Although it might seem like an episode of “CSI,” Sheriff Steve Tanner says it is a real way to fight crime.
“We can find relatives, where they live, where they work, anything like that,” he said. “This is darn close to something you would see on TV, but this is the real deal. It’s this year’s model and we are on the cutting edge of technology.”
The sheriff’s office received $100,000 in federal money and money from the county to pay for the $115,000 van.
Tanner says that although the van will be situated at the Raleigh County sheriff’s office, it will be taken to other counties as needed. To make matters simpler, Capt. Gordon Gregory has put together an owner’s manual for each piece of equipment.
Tanner said counties have a mutual aid agreement where they will not have to get special permission to use the van, and training will be provided. The Raleigh Sheriff’s Department received the van last month and has been going through training. It will train other counties to use it when the need arises. However, Tanner stresses members of these agencies will continue to conduct their own investigations.
“Raleigh County is proud to host this piece of equipment, but any agency in West Virginia, whether it’s sheriffs’ departments, state or municipal, will be able to use it,” Gregory said. “Criminals certainly don’t obey county lines, and all of us are fighting for the same purpose.”
Rahall says even though West Virginia might not have a huge crime rate, keeping up with technology is the least it can do for law enforcement officials.
“We are lucky that in the state of West Virginia that we have a low crime rate and we can credit that due to these brave men that we have,” he said. “These men are working behind the scenes so that we can rest assured at night that we are in a safe environment.”
