Pubdate: Sun, 25 Nov 2001 Source: State, The (SC) Copyright: 2001 The State Contact: http://www.thestate.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426 Author: Jeff Stensland Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) LOCAL CRIME LABS PURSUED Intent Is To Speed Up Drug Testing And Other Processes But Cost Is Steep, Credibility An Issue Local law enforcement agencies frustrated by long waits to get test results from SLED are setting up, and expanding, their own crime laboratories. SLED Chief Robert Stewart admits SLED can't process evidence fast enough and is encouraging local agencies to open the labs. "We are overwhelmed, especially our drug lab" Stewart said. "We don't have a timely turnaround on drug cases and it affects the courts." But as local labs open, some wonder if they can keep up with the operating expenses. And even if they can, defense lawyers are worried about the quality of the testing, claiming innocent people might be sent jail because of faulty analysis. Stewart said SLED is looking to local labs to take some of the approximately 18,000 drug cases SLED analyzes every year, by far the most typical analysis the agency does. Seven local crime labs operate in South Carolina, including ones with the Columbia Police Department and the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Most are limited to testing fingerprints and drug evidence. Some, like Columbia's, hope to start testing ballistics. At least three other counties plan on opening labs soon. Stewart hopes the local labs can handle more routine cases so his agency can focus more energy on rapidly developing technologies such as DNA analysis. Prosecutors also are pushing for more labs so cases can be processed faster. Now, it can take a year or more for some prosecutors to get drug evidence analyzed through SLED, said Tommy Pope, York County prosecutor and president of the S.C. Solicitors Association. Pope said technicians at York County's lab can analyze drug evidence and be ready to testify at a trial in weeks, not months. "It works out because you get one person who isn't being tugged all over the state to testify," he said. Federal Help The federal government doles out more than $11 million per year to help local law enforcement crime labs. A bill passed by the U.S. Senate in September would add another $25 million to the pot for 2002. Counties and cities also can take money seized during drug busts and funnel it into their labs, said Jeff Moore, director of the South Carolina Sheriff's Association. But whether smaller labs will be able to shoulder the long-term costs associated with running a forensic lab is yet to be seen, Moore said. "Hiring people to run the lab is more problematic for them than buying the equipment. Law enforcement is notorious for not paying personnel what they should," Moore said. The Aiken County Sheriff's Office plans to open a drug testing lab next year thanks to a three-year, $227,000 federal grant. Chief Deputy Jody Rowland said although law enforcement may not be able to pay as much as the private sector, they've hired a chemist who wants to be a sworn law enforcement officer. "We offer a competitive salary, but none of us are going to get rich," he said. "Having (the chemist) be an officer gives them a sense of duty. They're also going to understand what's happening in the street." In an effort to improve its chances of getting the grant, the Aiken Sheriff's Office promised to make its new lab open to neighboring counties that don't have them, Rowland said. They will not charge the other agencies for use of the lab, he said. Although he doesn't foresee the drug cases piling up, as they have at SLED, Rowland said "time will tell." Credibility Worries A larger potential problem for local labs could be challenges to their credibility. Only two labs in the state are accredited with a national association. They are the SLED lab and the Charleston County crime lab. Labs accredited with the American Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, the largest accreditation agency in the world, are inspected and must abide by a strict documentation process. Only one state, New York, makes it mandatory for its labs to gain accreditation. Accreditation is time consuming and can cost thousands of dollars. Some local labs say as long as they follow strict standards accreditation is unnecessary. "We simply can't afford national accreditation," Rowland said. "It's a very expensive venture." Dee Anne Johnson, chief chemist for the Columbia Police Department, said many local lab personnel started out working at SLED. "You get all the same training they get," she said. But Bill Nettles, a Columbia attorney and past president of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said defense attorneys have an easier time questioning the validity of evidence tested in unaccredited labs. "There's a big difference between a lab that's accredited and one that sends someone with a white coat and a briefcase," he said. Nettles said evidence can be contaminated if it's not properly handled as it passes from officers to the lab. Once the lab gets it, it must have a strict protocol to ensure the evidence is preserved, he said. "An unaccredited lab is fodder for cross-examination because they're more likely to convict innocent people." Pope disputes the claim that local labs can't do a good job. "The truth of the matter is that potential exists no matter who's doing (the testing). You just don't do it haphazardly." - --- MAP posted-by: Josh