Pubdate: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 Source: Commercial Dispatch, The (Columbus, MS) Copyright: 2007 The Commercial Dispatch Contact: http://www.cdispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3350 Author: Kristin Mamrack Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) COUNCIL VOTES TO SEEK BIDS ON DRUG TESTING EQUIPMENT Moving the Columbus Police Department one step closer to a having a fully functional crime lab, the City Council Tuesday night unanimously voted to take bids on $24,000 of drug testing equipment. Initially, the equipment will enable the city to have its own lab for testing city employees. But as the capabilities are increased, the equipment likely will generate some income for the city. Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John told the council the city's previous practice of "sending away" for drug testing only prolonged the process. "It's real cutting edge (technology)," he said of the equipment, which will be leased, with an option to purchase. "One of the things we're looking for is to be able to do our own urinalysis testing (and) our own drug testing," St. John added this morning. "And once we're up and running, we can use this for other agencies." "There are several benefits. Basically, the instrumentation - Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer - carries several functions," explained Austin Shepherd, the CPD's director of forensics. "One of the most basic is drug screenings on blood and urine. "Right now, the city spends somewhere around $7,000 a year on drug testing and screening. That may not seem like much, but when you add in the fact - through our up and coming drug court, which starts in January - the district attorney's office (and others) will generate about a thousand samples to be analyzed a year, it becomes a bigger thing we're looking at." Currently, the city pays between $40 and $50 per sample for drug testing. With the new equipment, the city likely will perform drug testing and screening for other agencies for about $30, a "competitive price" that will "help generate profits," Shepherd said, noting the city has a "really good chance to get a good deal" on the equipment. And the equipment eventually will be used for other lab processes, which are not currently offered anywhere in Mississippi beyond the state crime lab. "This instrumentation is used in several different analysis in a crime lab," Shepherd said. "We're hoping to generate about $30,000 in gross income. This instrumentation can also be used to analyze unknown substances, most specifically controlled substances. That is our ultimate goal. It can also be used to perform trace analysis. "That is something we're going to build to," he continued. "We'll start by generating a small, but healthy profit to show the city we can do this; it can be done by a municipality our size. "As far as forensics go, we're actually doing very well. We offer latent fingerprint analysis, computer analysis and video analysis. We're already offering some stuff that no other agency, outside the state crime lab, offers. We're already doing good, but we're on the verge of doing great. "We're on the verge of doing something no other agency can offer. Our goal is to have a fully functional crime lab that will serve other agencies." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D