Feb 14, 2025 By Mike Jones 3 min read

Local police in Washington County are hoping a little machine helps them solve a big problem.

The Washington County District Attorney’s office recently purchased several mobile drug scanning machines that can quickly be dispatched to crime scenes to help police officers identify dangerous substances and get immediate results right there on the spot.

“It’s a great safety tool,” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said.

The MX908 mobile drug detection is a handheld mass spectrometer that can provide real-time results to identify chemical and drug compounds in the field that helps police process evidence at the scene. It also can help let investigators know if there are dangerous components at a crime scene in which police officers should take precautions to protect themselves and others.

“If you’re going into a house, you don’t know (what’s in there) or if you’re getting in a place with chemicals,” Walsh said. “You can back out and you can test it. You don’t have to come in contact with it or you can test on residue if it’s on a table.”

Walsh’s District Attorney Drug Task Force purchased a unit last year and was so impressed by its functionality that they helped facilitate bringing two similar units for the Mon Valley and the Washington area last year. Two more were purchased recently for departments in Canonsburg and Peters Township, making five total in the county that can be used in neighboring municipalities on a moment’s notice.

Walsh said they recently came upon a synthetic methamphetamine operation and were able to use the unit to scan for various chemicals used in the process. He added there are other instances where drugs were hidden in candy wrappers or even women’s makeup cases, so it can be nearly anywhere when police officers are at a crime scene.

“It’s so the officers don’t have to come into contact with it,” Walsh said.

The machine and its components come in a briefcase-sized carrier that can easily be brought directly to a crime scene. But the little package can make a big difference, analyzing hundreds of drug components with just a trace amount of substance.

“Very small amounts are needed to test so the officers and all of us around them don’t have to come in contact with a larger substance to test,” Walsh said.

The units aren’t cheap – they cost about $100,000 each – so Walsh said they used grant money to make the purchases. Certain officers at various police departments are required to be trained on how to operate the machine, giving multiple municipalities the chance to use them.

“I have them all throughout the county, and anyone can call if they need it. They’re portable,” Walsh said. “They’re being shared by all of the municipal departments, and state police can use them at any time. Any law enforcement agency can use them.”

Walsh this week also announced several grants to local police departments from drug forfeiture assets. Washington will receive $13,206, North Strabane will get $5,245, and South Strabane will see $1,340 from the program.