Apr. 14—A new in-house digital forensics laboratory may speed investigations and solve crimes more quickly, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said.

The lab, paid for through a $497,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, is expected to be available later this year. Local investigators can use the lab to pull and analyze data from phones, computers and other digital equipment in-house rather than farming out the work to an outside agency.

"Having a digital lab is huge for us," Ziccarelli said. "We now outsource this work to a private vendor, the Attorney General's Office or the state police, and they are so overloaded. Sometimes, those labs can be backed up eight months to a year."

Digital evidence such as text messages, pictures, images and other electronic data has become a central piece in criminal investigations.

Chief Detective Ron Zona said most major and minor criminal cases involve analysis of digital evidence, and the ability for local investigators to gather, test and analyze data will be a substantial tool in solving crimes.

"We're going to have a quicker turnaround and be able to solve cases quicker," Zona said. "We will be able to analyze all the forensic evidence from start to finish."

The county commissioners earlier this week approved the purchase of hardware and software that will be used in the lab.

In March, the commissioners signed off on the creation of a forensic digital examiner position to oversee the new lab for the District Attorney's Office. That person, when hired, will earn an annual salary of about $84,000 to be paid for with grant money, Ziccarelli said.

The lab is expected to operate out of the county's forensics center, which serves as a base of operation for the four-member forensics investigation unit in the District Attorney's Office that collects and analyzes evidence. The center also serves as the headquarters for the county Coroner's Office and its morgue operations.

Ziccarelli said the lab will be available for use by all local police departments.

Officials said the new lab is expected to be a future cost savings. The county in past years has paid an average of $51,000 annually to outside sources to analyze digital forensic evidence, Ziccarelli said.

She said the District Attorney's Office also is seeking an additional $250,000 state grant to train staff and gain accreditation for thelab.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .