NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Metro Police Department is making its official push to open a DNA crime lab of its own.

Video: Metro Police Make Push For Own Crime Lab

Police Chief Ronal Serpas said the lab will allow Metro to better solve all types of crimes in addition to murders.

When a man broke into the Davidson County Election Commission, police found some blood at the scene. Investigators took a sample and sent it to the state, and thanks to DNA testing, the sample helped lead to an arrest.

"DNA is the 21st century’s fingerprints. It's the way to go,” said Serpas.

Presently, the state conducts its tests on a priority basis. In most cases, police already have to have a suspect for the crime.

In the case of the Election Commission break-in, Metro police had to get a special letter to get a rush from the state. If Metro has a lab of its own, Serpas said he feels it wouldn't have to deal with the bureaucracy.

"If we have our own DNA lab, we pick and choose when we're going to do the cases and what differences we can make with that,” he said.

The price tag would be $750,000 to $1 million for the first year for setup; after that, it would cost about $250,000 annually. The city could get some grants once the lab is up and running to help defray some of the costs.

Serpas said he wants to make it clear that the money for the lab isn't what's budgeted to hire officers.

"You can make some investments in technology that gives you the benefit (of) 10, 20, 30 police officers,” Serpas said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials said that Metro police can do what they want. They do want to point out that back logs are an issue of the past and are happy to handle special requests.

"We've added some positions, some staffing, some more forensic techs, forensic scientists. It has helped to keep that turn around for eight weeks fairly consistent over the last six to seven months,” said TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm.

Many other cities -- like New Orleans and Charlotte -- operate crime labs of their own.

If the Metro Council approves the request, it will take several months before it can operate, and it must also be accredited.

There was no word about the lab from Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, but he has said in the past that public safety is one of his top priorities.

Four years ago, a study revealed that Metro may be trying to do too much by opening a lab.