Pubdate: Mon, 26 Aug 2002
Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO)
Copyright: 2002 The Joplin Globe
Contact:  http://www.joplinglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859
Author: John Hacker

GROWING METH USE, PRODUCTION PUT STRAIN ON STATE'S CRIME LABS

A growing crime problem, especially the proliferation of methamphetamine 
use and production, is straining Missouri's network of crime laboratories, 
including the regional lab at Missouri Southern State College.

But, law enforcers in counties around Joplin say they have it good compared 
with their counterparts elsewhere in the state. Agencies such as the Greene 
County Sheriff's Department, almost entirely dependent on the Missouri 
State Highway Patrol's crime lab and its satellite operations, are more 
reliant on the overworked and understaffed system.

A satellite lab at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield 
serves the Greene County Sheriff's Department. It can analyze evidence only 
from drug and alcohol cases, meaning the department must transport all 
other evidence to Jefferson City, about three hours from Springfield.

"On rare occasions, we've had to send evidence to a private lab because we 
needed the results in a more timely manner," said Green County sheriff's 
Capt. George Larbey. "For most meth labs, 60 to 90 days is the standard for 
getting the results back from the state."

Representatives of departments closer to Joplin that use Missouri 
Southern's crime lab say they have to wait for results, but it hasn't 
become a problem like it is for some departments that rely on the state. 
"Usually, with most drug lab cases, we get results within 30 days from 
Missouri Southern's lab," said McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson. "Of 
course, the more complicated the analysis required, the more time it takes. 
But there have been very few, if any, times when I've seen a case delayed 
by the crime lab."

Phil Whittle, director of Missouri Southern's crime lab, said the average 
wait for results from a typical methamphetamine manufacturing operation is 
42 days.

He said that turnaround time, while better than at some labs, is still 
longer than the goal of 30 days, which is considered desirable by lab 
directors across the state.

"The increased analytical demands have drastically increased the 
turn-around time for processing cases and have increased our backlog," 
Whittle said in a written report. "Our current staff is sometimes unable to 
provide the courts with the required analytical results within the desired 
time frame; cases are often postponed until the laboratory reports are 
available. The crime laboratory is therefore the 'bottle neck' in the 
timely adjudication of criminal cases.

"The primary goal of all crime laboratories in Missouri involves reducing 
the turn-around time for the analysis and reporting of criminal evidence; a 
target time of 30 days is desirable for controlling drug cases."

MSSC's lab serves more than 40 agencies in nine counties, from McDonald and 
Barry counties in the south to Bates County in the north. It also serves 
six agencies in Kansas.

Whittle said agencies that use MSSC's lab pay an annual fee that is based 
on how much they used the lab in the year before.

Network of Labs

Law enforcement agencies across Missouri are served by a system of labs 
that includes the Missouri State Highway Patrol's headquarters lab in 
Jefferson City, and its network of satellite labs in Springfield, Willow 
Springs, Macon, Park Hills and St. Joseph. Regional labs are in place in 
Joplin, Cape Girardeau, Kirksville and Kansas City.

St. Charles County and the cities of St. Louis and Independence have crime 
labs that serve the agencies in those jurisdictions alone. Agencies outside 
those jurisdictions and far from a regional crime lab send their evidence 
to the Jefferson City lab for analysis.

That lab and the regional labs can analyze most kinds of evidence. The 
satellite labs are limited for the most part to drug and alcohol cases and 
some fingerprint analysis.

Whittle said Missouri Southern's lab can analyze evidence including latent 
fingerprints, blood and other body fluids, hair and fibers, firearms 
evidence, gunpowder residue, explosives residue, DNA evidence and 
impressions evidence.

Whittle said he sends handwriting and some fingerprint evidence to the 
state lab for analysis.

In his written report, recently submitted with a grant application, Whittle 
described the lab's "positive effect on the criminal justice system and 
public safety of the community."

"The regional lab can be more responsive to the needs of local departments 
because of the closer proximity to the police and sheriff's departments and 
to the courts involved in the adjudication of the cases," he wrote. 
"Laboratory personnel are often asked to aid investigators at major crime 
scenes throughout the region; this support role also serves an important 
training role in crime scene processing.

"The availability of forensic support in the community often helps criminal 
investigators decide the course of an investigation."

Backlog and Turnover

Whittle said the backlog of cases for analysis at MSSC's lab stands at 
about 550.

Capt. Stephen Hinesly, commander of the state patrol's lab, said the 
backlog at the headquarters lab stands at a little more than 3,000 cases, 
and that the satellite labs have about 1,000 cases awaiting analysis.

"One of our big problems has been retention of people," Hinesly said. 
"Nineteen out of 46 criminalists had left our employment in 2000 and 2001. 
When someone leaves, the replacement person has to be trained for six 
months to a year before they are fully effective.

"We lost three criminalists in July alone. Most left because salaries are 
higher in other states or at private labs."

Hinesly said criminalists make about $26,000 a year to start at the Highway 
Patrol lab. He said a regional survey showed that Missouri is near the 
bottom among surrounding states in what it pays criminalists.

Whittle said his lab has five criminalists, compared with more than 40 
employed at the state lab.

"We've had turnover as well, but not for the same reasons as the lab in 
Jefferson City," said Whittle, citing routine attrition as the cause. 
"Until recently we had very little turnover, but we've had more in recent 
years."

Whittle said training is important and time-consuming for new people hired 
at the lab. He said most criminalists he hires have degrees in biology or 
chemistry, but no practical experience in forensic science.

Whittle said he has his own training protocol, and it takes six months to a 
year to train a criminalist to the point where he or she is ready to 
analyze evidence without supervision.

Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore said his first priority is to ask 
the state Legislature to increase salaries for the criminalists in the 
patrol's laboratory in Jefferson City.

"That's our first issue, increasing salaries," Moore said. "The lab keeps 
losing people, and the main thing we can do to stop that is to bring 
salaries to the point where they are competitive with surrounding states."

Ultimately, Springfield officials would like to build a regional lab that 
could investigate and analyze a wide spectrum of crimes and evidence.

"Drug crimes are not a problem here," Moore said. "We still get results 
from drug tests and analysis in a good and timely manner. Where we get 
frustrated is the homicide cases that are still open because of delays in 
getting reports from the crime lab. I don't blame (lab officials) for the 
problem. It's really something they have no control over."

Moore said officials want a lab with at least 11 examiners in a new 
building with state-of-the-art equipment for analyzing DNA evidence, 
firearms evidence, drug evidence, bodily fluids and other evidence.

He said officials have determined such a lab would cost about $5 million to 
$6 million to start, and at least $1.5 million annually in salaries alone 
to maintain.

Moore said federal grants and local money may be available, but he expects 
the state would operate and maintain the lab.

"I don't think there is much resistance to the idea," he said. "It's 
obvious there is a need here."
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