The Huntsville area’s growth comes with an ugly side: a burgeoning need to investigate suspicious deaths, drugs and DNA evidence from crime scenes.

Officials say a $15 million forensic science facility that recently opened in Huntsville will help law enforcement keep up with that need by delivering science to courtrooms in a timely way, with the capacity to grow along with the population.

Angelo Della Manna, director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, said Tuesday the new Huntsville Regional Laboratory and Medical Facility on Technology Drive on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville represents, “the promise of a brighter and safer future” for the region.