Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jul 2004
Source: Bowling Green Daily News (KY)
Copyright: 2004 News Publishing LLC
Contact:  http://www.bgdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1218
Cited: Western Kentucky University http://www.wku.edu/
Cited: Murray State University http://www.murraystate.edu/

STATE CONSIDERING GIVING SOME LAB WORK TO UNIVERSITIES

The state Justice Cabinet is considering handing off some of the testing 
work done by state police labs to state universities, including Western 
Kentucky University.

Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who heads the Justice Cabinet, said some of the lab 
work is simple and procedural, such as testing seized marijuana. Pence said 
the testing could be done by students or university lab workers. "We are 
researching opening more labs on the college campuses and using their 
facilities," Pence said.

Another potential site is Murray State University, he said. Pence said 
using campuses would help streamline the process of testing drugs and would 
be cost-effective. It also would allow the state labs' highly trained 
workers to focus on more complex cases, he said. Marijuana, for example, 
can be identified by police officers who confiscate it, he said, but 
certified lab tests are needed for verification so it can be used in a 
criminal proceeding.

"It is a very simple test," Pence said. "There's no need to send it to 
Frankfort or one of the other labs. It can be done closer to home." Western 
President Gary Ransdell said the university would welcome the opportunity 
to help fight the backlog of testing waiting to be done in the state's 
crime lab and is holding a potential space for this type of work in the 
Center for Research and Development in the old Bowling Green Mall. "We are 
very interested in assisting the state in a crime-lab which would include 
drug testing, DNA analysis, presumably the whole range of forensic 
analysis," Ransdell said. "Our students and our faculty are prepared to 
provide whatever capacity might be appropriate."

Western has already had preliminary discussions with local judges, 
prosecutors and law enforcement agents about the matter and is looking 
forward to more formal discussions with the Justice Cabinet, he said. "Law 
enforcement workers and prosecutors in this part of the state are really 
pushing for a lab in this region," Ransdell said. "If we can help with 
that, we'd be glad to." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake