The National Institute of Justice recently released a report to Congress that details the needs, challenges and promising practices for today’s forensic laboratories. The report was a mandate of the bipartisan Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016, which was intended to increase national commitment to forensic technology.
For the most part, the needs and challenges identified in the report can be boiled down to four overarching issues—collaboration with law enforcements/other stakeholders, effects of the opioid crisis, and lack of personnel, and personnel training.
Collaboration
The report recommends the establishment of systems-based communications between forensic laboratories and key stakeholders, especially law enforcement. As many forensic laboratory technicians can attest, there is very little communication with law enforcement, resulting in issues with the status of casework, evidence submission, testing priorities, laboratory decision-making, and more. Many forensic lab techs feel law enforcement do not understand or interpret their analysis correctly—the same logic applies to lawyers, as well.
Shortage of personnel
A 2017 analysis of a subset of publicly funded, accredited laboratories estimated that county, city and state laboratories nationwide would need more than 900 additional full-time forensic laboratory employees to efficiently address current caseloads.
Medical examiner and coroner (ME/C) offices are in even worse shape with a critical shortage of board-certified forensic pathologists. There are currently only 400 to 500 physicians who practice forensic pathology full time, less than half of the total estimated need for 1,100 to 1,200 forensic pathologists in the United States—a number that is rapidly growing with the increase in drug overdose deaths.
According to the analysis, forensic laboratories nationwide would require an additional $640 million annually to reach an optimal balance of incoming laboratory requests and casework and capital investments and personnel.
Training
Already facing a lack of personnel is especially concerning given that the report claims recent graduates are not prepared to work in labs or ME/C offices.
“While graduates of forensic science programs tend to be prepared with scientific skills, they may lack the practical experience and critical thinking skills necessary to be ready to provide immediate support in the laboratory upon hiring. There is a need to bridge the gap between the goals of the academic programs and those of the forensic laboratories,” reads the report.
Additionally, recruiting, hiring and training are time- and resource-intensive for laboratory principal investigators and managers, resulting in a decrease in casework productivity. Given that it takes significant training for new employees to become eligible for casework, the backlog only continues to worsen over that time.
Opioid crisis
Forensic laboratory expenditures incurred directly as a result of the opioid crisis totaled $270 million in 2015. Laboratory expenditures for the analysis of drugs and controlled substances increased by 37% in that year, and expenditures for toxicology analysis increased by 25%, compared to typical laboratory growth in expenditures of less than 3% per year for the past decade.
At already less than half of what it should be, the opioid crisis is impacting ME/C offices particularly poorly. In 2017, for example, there were 70,000 drug overdose deaths. If the opioid crisis continues, or worse, increases, the number of required ME/C-related personnel is likely to close in on 1,500.
Lastly, the report found the increase in workloads, backlogs and the stressful work environment has taken a toll on the forensic workforce. However, while resources to address stress and trauma are available to law enforcement, few tools have been developed specifically for forensic personnel.
Recommendations
The Needs Assessment of Forensic Laboratories and Medical Examiner/Coroner Offices report recommends “sufficient and consistent funding and strategic planning” to address the above critical needs and challenges. It suggests taking advantage of federal grant programs and resources, such as the NIJ’s Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants, as well as the variety of federal training programs, including FLETC and BJA’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
Access the full report here.