BACKLOG OF FORENSICS:

LAB OVERLOAD RESULTS IN LONGER PROSECUTION TIME

Higher turnaround times at state forensic crime labs are adding up to
longer waits for district attorney offices prosecuting drug and
alcohol-related crimes.

Crime lab tests for drug and alcohol analysis can take up to six months
now, according to a recent Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report.

A March 2005 report from the TBI's forensic services division shows that
its Knoxville lab, one of three in the state, has a turnaround time of four
weeks for a blood alcohol analysis and 28 weeks for a toxicology analysis.
Its Nashville and Memphis labs have lower turnaround times of 20 weeks and
13 weeks, respectively, for toxicology analysis.

The tests are requested when a person is charged with driving while under
the influence of an intoxicant. If the blood alcohol level exceeds the
legal limit then prosecutors don't seek a toxicology screen. But should the
blood alcohol level come back under the limit, the district attorney's
office seeks the toxicology screen, adding 28 weeks to the wait for a
hearing on the charge.

The numbers didn't surprise Blount County District Attorney General Mike
Flynn, nor did he take issue with the Knoxville lab's quality of work.

"They need more resources," he said. "They do an excellent job with the
resources they have."

Flynn said the most frequently requested analysis in Blount County is for
blood alcohol, with the toxicology being the second more requested.

With the increasing number of drug-related crimes, he expects the
toxicology analysis requests to become the most commonly sought.

The March report, by Lanny Wilder, TBI assistant director, showed that drug
chemistry analyses or, drug identification tests, had the next highest
turnaround time at the Knoxville lab at 23 weeks.

"For court purposes, we have to have a certification from the crime lab,"
said Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp.

The least requested lab test is the DNA analysis, which is used in sexual
abuse and homicide cases.

The nation's publicly funded forensic crime labs, including local, state
and federal labs, saw a 70 percent increase in backlogged requests for
forensic services in 2002. The study was conducted in 2003 and 2004 by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice. The study found that
there were 500,000 backlogged requests at the end of 2002, compared to
290,000 at the beginning of the year.

Tennessee's labs need more resources, but they're in better shape than the
forensic labs in the surrounding state, according to Jennifer Johnson, TBI
public information officer.

The TBI labs conducted 250,806 tests in 2004, the most common analysis
being drug identification.