Baltimore Police Department is borrowing supplies for DNA tests from other crime labs because of procurement snafus

Due to problems with the city’s newly reconfigured procurement system, the Baltimore Police Department has been unable to secure a key chemical component necessary for DNA tests, which left them scrambling to find it elsewhere. The department has borrowed as much as a six-month supply of analytical reagent, the compound used to cause a chemical reaction in DNA testing, from other labs in the state. Two sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, told The Baltimore Banner that the shortfall of reagent would not have been solved without the assistance of other agencies.