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Yakima Valley crime lab reports first full year of operations, seeks larger facility
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Summary
Yakima Valley Conference of Governments told Yakima County commissioners its regional crime lab completed a first full year of operations, produced high NIBIN lead rates and started a statewide rapid-DNA work group, and that staff are seeking larger, permanent lab space.
Chris Wiggenhagen of the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments told the Board of Yakima County Commissioners on March 6 that the regional crime lab completed its first full year of operations and is seeking a larger facility to expand services.
The lab processed 1,181 cartridge cases in the last year and submitted 469 entries to the NIBIN federal database, producing 76 leads. Wiggenhagen said that yields an association rate of about 38 percent for NIBIN leads in the valley, compared with a stated national benchmark of about 24 percent. The lab ran 86 cell‑phone extractions in 2024; Wiggenhagen said each extraction costs roughly $3,000. He said those local services produce time and cost savings for member agencies.
Wiggenhagen credited one‑time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from Yakima County for helping start the lab and described additional support from private and tribal donors that allowed purchases of DNA kits and other supplies. He said state funding enabled formation of a rapid‑DNA work group that includes multiple county sheriff’s offices, municipal police departments and the Washington State Patrol crime lab; Yakima’s lab was the first in the state verified to run the equipment, he said.
Commissioners asked whether the COG planned to move other YVCOG offices into the new facility; Wiggenhagen said the planned move would be for the crime lab only and that the lab must remain centrally located for participating law enforcement agencies. Wiggenhagen told commissioners the lab is currently operating in roughly 535 square feet inside a county sheriff’s precinct building and that staff hope to relocate to larger space and begin accreditation after the move.
The presentation included references to a $375,000 state proviso that supported further forensic work, and to grants from a local credit union and the Yakama Nation that helped buy laboratory supplies. Wiggenhagen said the lab also provides investigative assistance and rapid‑DNA services to partner agencies.
Wiggenhagen and commissioners framed the lab’s work as an operational, not policy, function: the COG administers the lab and member jurisdictions retain decision authority over investigations and prosecutions.
The COG asked the commissioners to note the lab’s operational progress and continued need for space and resources; the board did not take any formal action on the lab during the work session.
