GA. EXPANDING CRIME LABS

Forensic Science Taking Larger Role In Proving Guilt

A man passes out at the wheel of a car. In the ensuing accident, people die.

The man claims he was not drinking; he was not under the influence of
drugs. Police on the scene do not notice any signs of alcohol abuse.

But they have to know for sure.

Family members of the deceased want to know why their loved ones died. The
district attorney wants to know if the man should be charged. The man wants
to prove his innocence.

Years ago, police would interview people on the scene. They would walk into
area bars and ask if anyone saw the man drinking or doing drugs.

No witnesses, no proof.

Today, the answers often come in a small vial of blood.

A blood sample is taken by a paramedic, a doctor or - in the event of a
death - the medical examiner, and is sent to a Georgia Bureau of
Investigation crime lab for testing. Within weeks, or possibly even days,
police, the district attorney, the family and the man being tested know for
sure.

"In most areas of the forensic sciences, Georgia has been on the cutting
edge," said Terry Mills III, deputy director of the GBI and head of the
forensics division.

Georgia was second in the country to create a statewide crime lab, Mills
said. It opened 50 years ago.

In 1993, as forensic science was becoming an increasingly vital part of
criminal investigation, the state filtered quite a bit of money into crime
lab equipment. Now, the state is helping again by increasing the size of
crime labs that have grown beyond the capacity of their buildings.

"The governor and the General Assembly have seen this need and in the past
four to five years have upgraded," Mills said.

Statewide, crime labs have been relocating to new and more modern
buildings. Most of the older buildings were 20 to 25 years old, Mills said.
They were not up to state and local standards for fire, safety and
cleanliness standards.

"Back then, they didn't care if you ate next to your evidence or dead
bodies," Mills said. "This is just stuff you learn through the years."

Blood samples taken in Middle Georgia are tested in one of two GBI crime
labs. Both are in the process of major expansion.

Last week in Atlanta, the main Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab
opened a new wing. The three-story, 50,000-square-foot lab handles the
forensics unit including ballistics, DNA testing and, on the entire third
floor, toxicology - where blood is tested. About 14,000 blood samples are
tested each year for alcohol and drugs, said George Herrin Jr., the
assistant deputy director of the GBI forensics division. Any difficult case
or any case requiring DNA testing is handled in the Atlanta lab.

Much closer to home, the Central Regional Crime Lab in Macon, one of six
regional labs, tests most of the blood samples in the 23 county area. And
that crime lab also is expanding.

A 17,000-square-foot building is under construction on Riggins Mill Road.
It will be about three times the size of the building on Oglethorpe Street.

"When this building originally opened, there was a staff of four," said
Shawn Davis, the laboratory manager. "Now, there's a staff of 14."

The three main jobs at the regional crime lab are testing blood for
alcohol, testing blood for drugs and testing solid samples of evidence to
prove whether or not the evidence is indeed an illegal drug.

In 1981, when the building was new, toxicology testing was still relatively
new, Davis said. The four employees could handle the load. Now, she said,
the 14 employees test about 1,500 blood samples per year and process nearly
4,000 drug identification cases. Yet they are housed in a building intended
for four. Technicians and scientists are cramped into small offices and
some make-shift labs.

The new building is slated to open in April.

Davis and Herrin, in Atlanta, said toxicology testing in Georgia is running
at a smooth and timely pace.

Although the entire toxicology process only takes about 10-20 hours of
work, final reports usually take between 10 and 30 days to complete.
Especially complex cases can take as long as six months.

But Robert Brown, a chemical doctor at the Atlanta crime lab who tests
blood for alcohol, said that's actually much faster than could be achieved
even 10 years ago. Since 1999, the average turnaround for a toxicology test
is about 10 days, Brown said. About 90 percent of tests are completed
within a month.

"There used to be one instrument and two guys to do 14,000 samples," Brown
said. Now, he said, 12 people work in that division with the five machines.

In Macon, Davis said she can turn around results in just about the same
amount of time.

Last month, she said, 93 percent of their reports were completed in 30 days
or less.

Howard Simms, district attorney for Bibb County, said he hasn't seen any
problems with slow toxicology testing. He and his assistant district
attorneys know that DNA testing is a time-consuming process and must adjust
their cases accordingly. But, he said, toxicology tests are completed well
within needed time frames.

On especially difficult cases, toxicology tests take much longer, but those
cases take longer to run through the court system, as well.

Davis said the lab hasn't heard any complaints.

"We're fully staffed and we're making time here that meets the customers'
needs," she said.