STATE CRIME LABS ELIMINATE THEIR BACKLOG OF DRUG CASES

More employees, bigger budget help

Kentucky crime labs have handled about 16,000 drug cases since January,
eliminating a backlog that plagued the justice system for years and drew
criticism from judges and state officials.

Thanks in part to an increased budget and staff, no cases older than 60 days
remain at any of the state's six crime labs, said Maj. Sonny Cease,
assistant director of the Kentucky State Police technical services division.
And there are fewer than 100 cases older than 45 days, he said. That's a
victory for the division, which had been criticized for contributing to
court delays.

In the past several months, Shane Young, chief narcotics prosecutor for the
Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney's office, said he has seen an
"amazing" difference in getting lab results.

"It is 100 percent better than it was this time last year," Young said.
During the backlog, Young said, results were seldom ready when he called for
them. Now, he said, nine out of 10 cases he looks at include lab results.
Having results makes the entire justice process run more smoothly, he said.
"Everybody has their day at trial quicker."

"We've been scrambling around to be as productive as possible," said Jeff
Warnecke, manager of the central laboratory in Frankfort. The scramble began
in earnest after Lt. Gov. Steve Pence announced in December that, if the
labs didn't reduce the backload of drug cases, they would be moved directly
under the supervision of the Justice Cabinet, which he also heads.

The problem was serious, Pence said in an interview last week, adding that
his time as a federal prosecutor made clearing the logjam a top priority for
him. For several years, crime lab administrators had projected that, with an
increase in drug cases and a shortage of staff, the backlog would only
worsen. The six labs, with a total of 130 analysts and support staff, handle
cases from about 400 law-enforcement agencies, Cease said. And their total
caseload nearly doubled from 20,700 in 1989 to roughly 40,000 in 2003.

The legislature eventually did increase the crime lab budget, allowing it to
hire 11 more people in 2002 and 15 in 2003, Warnecke said. But the new
technicians had to be trained for six months before really getting to work.
Meanwhile, others were retiring or taking higher-paying jobs in other
states, Warnecke said.

So despite a statewide hiring freeze, the crime labs received permission to
fill vacancies.

The backlog was attacked on other fronts too. About 20 percent of cases were
eliminated by combing a statewide court record system to determine which
cases had already been settled in court, state police Commissioner Mark
Miller said.

And 5,200 cases were sent to private labs in a one-time effort to shrink the
backlog, Cease said.

Labs that had lighter caseloads also took on cases from others. "The
cooperation shown between the labs has been amazing," said Capt. Tom Porter,
state police commander for the labs.

Drug-evidence analysts at all the labs worked overtime. And they got help
from analysts who normally handle evidence in other types of cases - state
police labs test firearms, DNA, blood alcohol, arson and other types of
evidence. The analysts would come in early and work through breaks to help
with drug cases, Warnecke said.

Some of their divisions also have backlogs, but nothing compared to the
level in drug cases. On average, the labs take in 21,000 drug cases
annually, he said.

About 80 percent of all cases handled in the labs are drug-or
alcohol-related, Warnecke said.

Backlogs "are a persistent problem nationally," said Roger Kahn, president
of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. "Crime labs are
continuously fighting against a backlog because resources are often a
problem." he added. It can be very, very difficult to keep up." Chief
Jefferson District Judge Donald Armstrong said he was often frustrated as
drug cases were dismissed because evidence was not back from the lab. While
most charges would be reinstated at the circuit court level once the
evidence was tested, Armstrong said that isn't an efficient way to run the
system. "Things get lost when cases get dismissed like that," he said. This
year drug cases are running ahead of projections, which puts crime labs on
target for their largest caseload yet, Warnecke said. But Pence expects the
labs to keep up with their work now. "They'll maintain it or we'll move it
to a place where it will be sustained," Pence said this week. "It has to
remain a priority."