TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is opening its new $55-million Topeka crime laboratory next month, replacing a facility that opened in the 1980s. KBI Director Kirk Thompson says the previous Topeka lab space didn't meet accreditation standards, and the new lab located at Washburn University will allow for more efficiency in processing evidence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the new lab is one of four operated by the KBI. Others are in Kansas City, Pittsburg and Great Bend. But the new lab will be the only one with facilities for all of the various forensic science disciplines. Members of the Legislature's Joint Committee on State Building Construction toured the site Wednesday. The committee has overseen the project since it was authorized in the state's 2013 budget.
