By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

The FBI is testing a new way to rapidly match DNA samples – in just two hours – from felony suspects.

The new program, “Rapid DNA,” was launched as a pilot program in Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana, UPI reports.

If the pilot program is successful, it could transform the role of DNA in solving crimes.

“There is no question that DNA testing has made Florida safer, and the use of Rapid DNA will ensure suspects aren’t released from jail before DNA search results come back,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a news conference last week.

The technology is 10 years in the making and would rely on the FBI’s national database of DNA collected in unsolved crimes.

“We believe this scientific DNA matching tool will greatly enhance all law enforcement agencies … to more effectively and efficiently solve crimes and bring the perpetrators of crime to justice,” said Sheriff Walt McNeil of Leon County, where the program pilot began.