Crime lab backlog monstrous
Plan for more analysts won't be enough, Van Hollen says
By STACY FORSTER and STEVEN WALTERS
January 12, 2007
Madison - Eliminating the backlog of DNA evidence at the State Crime Laboratory would take existing analysts up to 20 months - even if no new evidence were submitted, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Friday.
The backlog was one of the major issues in this fall's campaign for attorney general, in which Republican Van Hollen defeated Democrat Kathleen Falk. Van Hollen had said he would eliminate the backlog but on Friday acknowledged that it will be tougher than he expected.
Van Hollen called the backlog "monstrous" and said Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to hire 15 new analysts won't be enough. But he said both he and Doyle, who served as attorney general for 12 years, want to do all they can to test crime evidence as quickly as possible.
Still, Van Hollen said, "It may be a problem so large that, despite the best intentions of whoever is in charge at the crime lab, it may not be something we can handle on our own."
The backlog is now up to about 1,775 cases, according to state Department of Justice statistics, compared with a backlog of 1,325 at the end of 2005.
Van Hollen said the department is evaluating how outsourcing evidence would help with the problem and will ask lawmakers to give crime lab analysts greater leeway in determining which pieces of evidence should be tested and how many tests to do from each crime scene.
During the campaign, Van Hollen pledged to improve the DNA testing procedures to a point where evidence would be analyzed within three weeks of arriving at the lab. He said that goal is still achievable, but it will take time to get to that point.
"The more resources we have . . . the sooner we're going to get rid of the backlog, and the more output we're going to have," he said.
Doyle promised during the campaign to recommend adding 15 analysts. Spokesman Matt Canter said Doyle will keep that pledge when he submits the two-year budget to legislators in February.
Van Hollen said those 15 additional analysts would help, but they're not enough to tackle the problem. He also said it's likely to cost $2.5 million to pay for those new analysts over the next two years.
With those additional 15 people, the backlog would stay about where it is now, according to Department of Justice estimates.
The department is working to determine how many more analysts are necessary and also is looking for ways to make the process more efficient, Van Hollen said.
In the meantime, Van Hollen said, lawmakers could help by lifting restrictions on the ability of the crime lab to prioritize evidence and decide which pieces make the most sense for testing.
Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin), chairman of the Assembly's Committee on Judiciary and Ethics, said he talked with Van Hollen this week about changing the law. Gundrum said he thought it could be done without undermining the ability of prosecutors to prepare the best case.
"His objective is to try to make sure there's a more judicious and discriminating evaluation of what is really intended to make the case successful and understanding they could always test more if necessary," Gundrum said.
Outsourcing more expensive
Outsourcing the work is a more expensive option than having state analysts
do the job, Van Hollen said, adding that it would cost nearly $13
million to send the existing backlog to private firms.
"I'm interested in doing whatever is the most financially feasible," Van Hollen said. "If we're going to outsource, that requires at least one-time budget outlays, and that's going to be difficult to attain in this budget crisis."
Sen. Russ Decker (D-Schofield), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee, said he expects to follow the governor's lead on the issue of how many more crime lab analysts to hire when the committee considers Doyle's budget.
"The governor was attorney general for 12 years," Decker said. "He should have a pretty good grasp of what that agency needs."
Decker said any request for more crime lab analysts will be balanced against other needs.