Virginia DFS expects occupancy of new central lab by year-end; phased move targeted for mid-January

Director Linda Jackson told the Scientific Advisory Committee the Department of Forensic Science’s new central laboratory is on schedule for completion by the end of the calendar year and DFS is planning a phased move beginning mid-January 2026.

"We are really getting close to being able to move into our new building," Director Jackson said, adding that the agency hopes to receive occupancy by the end of 2025 and begin moving staff and equipment in mid-January 2026. Jackson said the move will be phased over four to six weeks and will include vendor-managed dismantling, crating and reinstallation of scientific instrumentation followed by vendor-assisted performance verifications.

Jackson said DFS is coordinating with the Department of Real Estate Services and other state partners to surplus or reassign current state-owned facilities, including the Paul B. biotech building. She noted the agency’s leased space lease ends in March 2026 and all items must be removed by then.

The director highlighted new facility features, including a purpose-built shielded room for digital evidence and expanded casework bench space. Jackson said DFS is contracting a moving company for non-instrument items and working with instrument vendors for scientific equipment moves.

Jackson also announced operational changes tied to the move: a reorganization that created a director of finance and administration role to centralize grants, procurement and finance functions; an internal compensation study focused on Northern Virginia staffing differentials; and planned budget requests as part of the governor’s biennial budget process. She said the agency had about $5 million in carryover at the end of FY25 and that purchases delayed in FY25, including breath alcohol instruments, are now under contract for 2026 spending.

Jackson described other recent program-level changes: distribution of specialized DNA «neck and fingernails» kits for suspected strangulation cases; an expanded contract with a private lab (BODI in Wharton, Va.) for selected non-person forensic biology cases — DFS has sent roughly 600 cases to that vendor to reduce the forensic-biology backlog; and expanded use of STRmix probabilistic genotyping to reduce transfers to the central lab for mixture analysis.

The committee heard that firearms comparisons have been removed from the Western laboratory’s scope of accreditation because no qualified analyst currently works at that location; those cases are being transferred to other DFS sites or vendors. Jackson said the agency will continue to prioritize cases by court or public-safety need.

Jackson said the agency will seek a small, targeted piece of legislation to remove a statutory requirement that the Scientific Advisory Committee meet twice a year in Richmond, noting the agency’s new lab will be in Hanover County.