A new report shows Wisconsin state crime laboratories were slower to process some types of evidence in 2019 compared with previous years. Most significantly, DNA testing delays grew an average of 19 days from 2017 to 2019. This is despite hundreds of fewer DNA assignments in 2019 than 2017 and 2018 due to the completion of the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
“Recent method improvements such as more efficient automated DNA extraction techniques were successfully integrated into the DNA Analysis Unit in 2019,” reads the 2019 Annual Report for the Department of Justice Division of Forensic Sciences. “These improvements have led to a significant decrease in the queue, however, due to the throughput of older cases the turnaround time has increased.”
Ballistics, forensic imaging and toxicology cases all saw an increase in testing delays in 2019. Ballistics testing took an average of 268 days per case, up from 210 days in 2018 and 171 days in 2017. Meanwhile, forensic imaging cases took an average of 69 days, up from 62 days in 2018, but better than the average 94-day delay in 2017. Turnaround time for toxicology cases decreased 5 days from 2019 to 2018, but is up 12 days when compared to the 2017 average of 34 days. Additionally, the average turnaround time for the Crime Scene Response Unit increased by about one week.
On the other hand, the report indicates turnaround time for trace evidence, fingerprints, latent prints and footwear, tool marks and controlled substances tests decreased in 2019 compared with prior years. That is especially important for the Controlled Substances Unit, as controlled substances accounted for 43% of the labs’ cases.
The testing delays are met with a level of criticism as current Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul chided his predecessor, Brad Schimel, over lab delays during their 2018 campaign. The legislature Kaul got passed upon taking office allowed for two additional DNA analysts, one additional firearms analyst and three ballistics analysts. According to the 2019 report, despite this increase in workforce and state budget, delays among the three state crime laboratories are still present. However, as Kaul noted during a press conference, he asked for 19 new analyst positions, of which only seven were approved.
“We’re getting closer to catching up,” Kaul said. “It’s not like flipping a switch. The 2020 and 2021 numbers is where we’ll really see the impact.”
A 2018 Needs Assessment by the National Forensic Science Technology Center, released near the end of Schimel’s time in office, identified multiple problems within Wisconsin state crime labs, including poor morale and pay. The 2020 Needs Assessment Update, released May 18, 2020, says forensic lab workers will receive a 2% increase in January 2020 and again in January 2021. A pay progression scale was also implemented to bring workers’ salaries more in-line with the market standard. The 2020 update also confirmed the Division of Forensic Science is working with key stakeholders to build a new facility for the Milwaukee crime lab, which was one of the recommendations in the initial assessment.
Overall, almost all of the personnel issues identified in the 2018 assessment have been or are being adjusted in a positive way. Recommendations that centered on instrumentation and sample workflow were more often dismissed, such as the suggestion to stop batch processing toxicology sample or dividing the lab into different sections to foster more teamwork.