Rutherford County has been wanting and needing a forensic center for more than 15 years. There was even conversation at one time about buying the old State Farm building and converting it into a forensic center and morgue. Now it looks like that long-held dream of current and former mayors, commissioners, law enforcement personnel, and emergency services personnel is going to come true.
The Rutherford County Commission recently approved the construction of a $15 million forensic center to be built in Smyrna off of Weakley Lane. A ten-acre campus will include the County Clerk’s Office, a convenience center, a new Emergency Medical Service location, the forensic center, and possibly an office building. The Tennessee Department of Health voted for a sixth regional forensic center to be built in Rutherford County about a year ago.
“Rutherford County is the fourth largest county in Tennessee, and it is in dire need of better control of the forensic services provided to law enforcement agencies from a quality and financial standpoint,” County Mayor Joe Carr said in a press release. “Outside of the metro counties, Rutherford County orders the highest number of autopsies of any Tennessee county. This resource within Rutherford County would provide prioritized quality for our residents with death investigation services.”
Death investigations will have improved efficiency with the building of the new forensics center, reducing delays in communication and providing a timelier resolution to questions that decedents’ families may have while allowing for more expedient justice when a crime is involved. The new facility will also offer educational opportunities for law enforcement, forensic students, first responders, and other judicial professionals.
It is expected that the new center will also decrease operational costs of more than a million dollars spent each year in outsourcing autopsies. Currently, 60 counties rely on the services of the Middle Tennessee Regional Forensic Center.
“Having a forensic center in the county would give investigators the time to be there on-site, instead of going to Davidson County or driving up there and not staying as long as they might need,” Smyrna Police Chief Jason Irvin stated in a video presented to the County Commission.
Carr told WKRN that the county is paying for it out of pocket after the state denied funding for the new center, but the county has been saving for it for the last few years, so property taxes won’t go up and they won’t have to borrow money either.
The new forensic center is expected to be completed in 2027.
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