FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)— Three years after opening, the Indiana State Police forensic lab in Fort Wayne has allowed the state to process more evidence from crimes in the northeastern part of the state. "Coming over here has allowed us to hire additional personnel, get additional equipment and then bring all the forensic science services into this laboratory," State Police forensic scientist, Stacey Hartman, said. Tickets going on sale soon for ‘Holiday Lights’ at Parkview Field The lab serves 18 northeast Indiana counties and is now one of four in the state. There are also labs in Indianapolis, Evansville and Lowell. Evidence that winds up in the lab is either from investigations conducted by state police or local agencies that the state police are assisting. "The State Police has, in most cases, a lot more resources than what some of our smaller rural counties have," First Sergeant John Petro said. "And so, we're there to support and assist them in their crime scene investigations." All types of crimes have evidence come into the forensic lab, whether it be a stolen vehicle or homicide investigation. Though, statewide, 70% of investigations are into drug-related crimes. "So, there's a wide variety of types of evidence that a crime scene investigator may collect," Petro said. "Maybe something as simple as a hair or a fiber, up to maybe a carpet or a part of a wall." Evidence arrives at the lab through their evidence receiving lobby and gets placed into a vault until an analyst begins working the case. In 2023, Indiana State Police accepted about 24,000 cases and more than 40,000 pieces of evidence between their four state forensic labs.