---

LAKEVILLE - In a newly opened laboratory in an industrial park near Interstate 495, real life C.S.I. personnel are working to solve murders, rapes, robberies and other serious crimes.

But unlike the popular television show, the work of ballistics, fingerprint detection and blood splatter evidence is more meticulous. And although crimes may be solved, they are not solved in an hour.

"This is the thing they show on C.S.I.," Trooper David Mackin said, showing off a computer with a screen showing a large fingerprint.

Matching the print takes only a few computer key strokes on TV. But Mackin says in real life it takes about three to five hours to come up with a match.

The state formally opened the 8,445-square-foot regional forensic crime laboratory this week, although police in Southeastern Massachusetts have been bringing evidence to the lab since February. Attleboro area police departments hailed the opening of the lab, saying it will save departments money and time - both in short supply in times of tight budgets - and gas.

Before the lab opened, area investigators had to drive to Sudbury and Maynard, a trip of about three hours. Investigators also say evidence will be processed quicker, meaning the wheels of justice will turn a little faster.

Attleboro police have already given the lab evidence collected in the daring jewelry heist at E.A. Dion last weekend, in which burglars escaped with about $2 million in jewelry, including New York Giant Super Bowl rings.

Wrentham police Sgt. William McGrath, who attended the opening ceremony with acting Police Chief Richard Gillespie, said evidence collected in the Arbor Inn stabbing earlier this week also will be analyzed at the lab.

"For us, especially when your short-staffed, time is of the essence," McGrath said. "It makes us more available for other crimes and other investigations."

Gillespie said having the lab so close will also allow police to become more familiar with laboratory personnel, something that was not possible with all the police departments in the state going to Sudbury.

"We'll be able to make contacts. In Sudbury, you're just a face," Gillespie said.

North Attleboro police Capt. Daniel Coyle agreed.

"Having a crime lab strategically located in the region will help our crime solving capabilities immensely," he said.

Attleboro Detective Lt. John Otrando said the closeness of the lab will also allow police to make more trips, if necessary, or go to the lab and continue investigations in the same day. In addition, Otrando said, fewer cases will get bogged down in court because the evidence will be processed in a more timely fashion.

The new lab provides sophisticated scientific evidence analysis and allows technicians and scientists to more efficiently process evidence collected at crime scenes in Bristol and Norfolk counties and Cape Cod.

The state has also opened satellite labs in Springfield and Danvers.

"We're trying to put science closer to the field," said John Grossman, the state's undersecretary for forensic services.

Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating said the state laboratory has always had high scientific standards. But he said it lacked the financial resources and staff to quickly process the mounds of evidence police all over the state obtained in criminal cases.

In the effort to solve the 1998 murder of Foxboro resident Irene Kennedy in Walpole's Bird Park, Keating said investigators sent the DNA evidence to Maine to be analyzed because of the backlog at the state lab.

The DNA matched a man who was already in prison for murder and whose DNA was in a state data bank for convicted felons.

"These delays can be dangerous. These people are out on the street. Fortunately, in that case, the person was already serving time," Keating said.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who spoke at the opening ceremony, said DNA evidence analyzed at the lab resulted in the arrest this week of a suspect in the kidnapping and rape of a 15-year-old Dennis girl in May.

Previously, O'Keefe said, it took six months to a year for a DNA analysis to be completed.

Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter said he was excited about the opening of the lab.

"The new crime lab is going to help us solve more crimes, get ready for trial faster and get more convictions," he said. "It's a red letter day for law enforcement in Massachusetts."