Groundbreaking for new crime lab

Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for the state's new, $12 million crime lab expected to open just over a year from now. The state-of-the-art facility replaces one in the Department of Public Safety in Waterbury. The new center features a DNA lab with enough capacity to handle the anticipated increase in samples to be collected under Vermont's new sex offender law. A new firing range will be built with bulletproof walls for increased safety. Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Tremblay said the new facility will meet modern requirements for the management of evidence. The space next to the public safety building will be filled by the operations center for Vermont Emergency Management and the public safety commissioner's office.