In a move long anticipated, the Austin City Council voted Thursday to officially transfer the forensic laboratory out from under police control, turning it into an independent entity.
The police department’s old lab was shut down in 2016 after an audit by the Texas Forensic Science Commission found significant issues with the handling and analysis of DNA evidence, including untrained staff and improper testing procedures. In 2017, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) took control of the lab, completing all DNA work and outsourcing the extensive backlog of rape kits.
It is not immediately clear what will happen to the DNA portion of the new forensic lab. Per city contract, DPS is in control of the DNA lab until early 2022, with the possibility of an extension. But, a spokesperson for city council member Greg Casar’s office told KUT the DNA lab will “eventually” become part of the new forensics department or operate as a second independent entity.
Officials first started talking about creating an independent lab in 2016 after the release of the audit, and after seeing an increase in the backlog of rape kits. In 2016, they were astonished to find the backlog at 4,000. The Austin Police Department subsequently used $500,000 of their budget, including $200,000 from a grant, to clear the backlog, even reopening dozens of cases based on investigative leads from the “new” evidence.
Since the beginning, most stakeholders have been aligned on the need to create an independent forensics lab. Ken Casaday, head of the Austin Police Association, told KVUE news yesterday that it should have been done years ago.
“It gives a third eye, not a police eye, to the evidence that's being examined. It won't be coming from the police department; it will be coming from a neutral third party, which we support," he said.
Sexual assault survivors and advocates also praised the move. The Survivor Justice Project, a local policy advocacy group that began in response to the DNA lab’s closures in 2016, said they are thrilled to finally have “a functioning DNA lab within a forensic department led by scientists.”
“We seek to reimagine what justice looks like for all people who must engage with the criminal justice system, and we are grateful Austin City Council has listened to community members who have made clear that civilian departments in service to community should be moved out of law enforcement control,” the group said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Thursday’s vote reallocated $12 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget to the new Forensic Science Bureau. The vote is part of a larger conversation about how Austin wants its police department to function. In August 2020, the city council voted to reallocate $150 million from the APD’s budget toward public health services as part of its City-Community Reimagining Task Force.
Approximately $20 million was taken from cadet classes and overtime to be reinvested in permanent housing and services, EMS for COVID-19 response, family violence shelter and protection, violence prevention, workforce development and a range of other programs. Additionally, $50 million was diverted into a Reimagine Safety Fund, dedicated to providing alternative forms of public safety and community support.
In addition to the forensics lab, five other programs have been moved out of APD, and others will likely follow, including a concept for a chief medical officer, emergency call center and police dispatch, internal affairs and the special investigations unit.