PALM BAY, Fla. --
In a Florida first, Palm Bay Police used sophisticated DNA test to solve a common, but problematic crime -- burglary.
Palm Bay has its own mini DNA lab, and police said it's paying off, WESH 2 News reported.
Before, to catch a thief, you needed a fingerprint, officials said. Now, for the first time, all it takes is invisible traces of DNA.
Prowlers in residents' back porches and homes often leave no traces and no fingerprints. Most burglaries go unsolved, leaving most homeowners feeling violated.
"It's an invasion. You never feel safe," burglary victim Dave Rich said.
Palm Bay Police charged a man with burglary to a back porch. It was the first crime solved in Florida using DNA evidence.
"We could not get prints but if I touch this I've also got DNA," Bill Berger with the Palm Bay Police Office demonstrated by using a cotton swab on a soda can.
Palm Bay police said they started gathering DNA evidence in house earlier this year. Police and prosecutors use DNA all the time to solve murder and rape crimes, but state DNA labs are so backed up they can't process lesser crimes like burglary that affect more people.
Palm Bay can get DNA results in a week now, using invisible evidence a burglar leaves behind.
"It's a good time for law enforcement and a bad time for criminals," one officer said.
Police said they had no other way of finding the arrested suspect other than the DNA sampling and they said that same DNA sample could link the man to another half-dozen burglaries.
To comment on this story, send an e-mail to Dan Billow.
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