Law enforcement and crime victims across the Rio Grande Valley rely on the work of the Texas Department of Public Safety's crime lab in Weslaco.

Channel 5 News got an inside look at the impact the lab has when it comes to seeking justice.

Robert Garcia said he knows what it's like to seek justice.

"My brother was murdered on Sept. 13, 2011," Garcia said.

Fourteen years ago, Garcia founded the Rio Grande Valley Family and Friends of Murdered Children Organization.

"I had to find a purpose, and the purpose was to help others," Garcia said.

That means ongoing emotional support and help navigating the justice system.

"DNA evidence is important. It corroborates the victim's statements of what they see," Garcia said.

Channel 5 News was invited to see the crime lab at the DPS headquarters in Weslaco to see how fingerprints are analyzed, drugs are identified, bullets are traced back to guns collected in an investigation and how DNA can help get victims get justice or clear a suspect's name.

The crime lab serves 28 counties, including the Rio Grande Valley. Nearly all the technicians there said caseload continues to rise.

"So we don't know why they increase, but the good thing is that we have the crime laboratory division that we can actually fall back on," DPS spokesperson Sgt. Guadalupe Casarez said.

Though crime lab technicians were available for questioning, Casarez was the only one authorized to give interviews.

"They want to get these cases out within a month, a couple of months, because obviously we have victims that are waiting for justice," Casarez said.

But victim advocacy groups, like Garcia's, say many times court hearings are postponed because of delays with evidence.

"We have heard testimony by them, themselves, the DPS and the crime labs that they're backlogged," Garcia said.

Casarez says it's up to Texas lawmakers in Austin to provide more staff and funding.

Channel 5 News did reach out to Texas DPS to ask how many forensic scientists work at the Weslaco lab and asked why their caseload is going up. They have not yet responded.

"They have to hear from the constituents, in particular, victims service providers on the impact forefront. They need to adjust why this is taking place," Garcia said.

Justice is waiting in line as the caseload grows.

Watch the video above for the full story.