GBI lab trims backlog
MACON TELEGRAPH—July 3, 2006
GBI lab trims backlog
By Tim Sturrock
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER
More than a year after the GBI crime lab's backlog of unfinished tests reached 30,000, local law enforcement agencies say they're seeing relief in the wait times for test results.
Law enforcement agencies across the state had complained that the backlog, which began piling up in 2003 as a result of budget cuts, was delaying court proceedings. In some cases, they said, the backlog was responsible for criminals being returned to the streets to reoffend while officials waited on crime lab results.
But the backlog now stands at about 5,000 cases, about a fifth of what it was. And in most cases, the wait for results is just 30 days.
GBI crime lab director Dan Kirk calls that an accomplishment.
"I don't know if you want to call it a backlog or a back-flow," Kirk said. "If we had a zero backlog, then you'd question what (crime lab employees) are doing down there."
Over the past two years, new lab workers and the outsourcing of some tests have made a dramatic difference, he said.
But there are still some delays, he said. For example, DNA cases still may take several months because several lab workers left the GBI for jobs with the U.S. Army crime lab. But several months is still quicker than the wait time a year ago, he pointed out.
Cases can be expedited on request, he said.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies say they've noticed a difference.
Monroe County Sheriff John Cary Bittick said his deputies have stopped complaining about the slow turnaround of results.
"I think it's gotten considerably better," he said.
Bittick had said in 2004 that public safety had taken a "big cut," but now he said he's satisfied with the results, though there's always room for improvement.
Bibb County District Attorney Howard Simms said the GBI has always done its best to accommodate his office and does an "excellent" job.
But he said during the worst of the backlog, some criminal trials involving murders, rapes and drugs sometimes could not move forward without the test results that supported the charges.
In rare cases, he said, people were released on bond because of delays. In others, suspected drug dealers were able to reoffend while awaiting a delayed trial, he said.
But now, Simms said, things are moving much faster.
The problem isn't new. In the late 1980s and '90s, crime lab backlogs piled up, Simms said. In the late '90s, he recalled, the backlog also reached 30,000 cases.
"We understood their problem, too," Smallwood said of the GBI. "We are only one of 159 counties. But we're like everyone else. We think our case is the most important."
The most recent backlog of cases began mounting in 2003 after several positions at the GBI were frozen due to budget cuts, leaving the lab understaffed. From July 2003 to July 2004, the backlog increased from 10,740 to 28,570 cases, according to the GBI. Gov. Sonny Perdue approved filling 17 vacant positions in 2004.
By June 2005, there were 30,000 backlogged cases, when the GBI was authorized to fill 20 additional positions and was given $3 million to outsource some testing.
Kirk, the GBI's crime lab director, said it generally takes a year to train people to perform the tests. He said the backlog appears to be cyclical.
"We've seen it in the past, and we'll probably see it in the future," he said.
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