Investigators at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, are leveraging Touch DNA to resolve cases of illegal contraband in the prison.

Since all convicted felons in Indiana are required to submit their DNA sample into a nationwide database, the DNA test will show any inmates in the facility who have come in contact with the item.

A Touch DNA forensics kit will allow investigators to rub a specially treated swab on an object for DNA, and through a new pilot program in the DOC, the results of the DNA swab are known in 60 days. Each kit submitted for testing costs the DOC $500, so investigators must be selective in what they send off to the lab.

Source: The Tribune-Star