The Arizona Department of Public Safety’s (AZDPS) State Crime Lab has reduced turnaround times for analysis in three key areas over the past two and a half years.
For cases involving blood alcohol analysis, DPS has improved the turnaround time to get results back to the investigating agency from 30 days down to 15 days. Currently there is no backlog of blood alcohol analysis cases. Toxicology testing, which analyzes blood for drugs, is now being completed in less than two months which is down from a timeframe of six to nine months. Finally, latent print evidence involving violent crimes, is now being completed in a time frame of 30 to 60 days, and property crimes cases are being delivered in 90 days. Previously, it took close to year to return property crime results.
“I am amazed with what the crime lab has done in the last two and a half years in terms of reducing the backlogs and turnaround times for analyzing evidence. Ultimately, their efforts contribute toward the department’s vision of providing customer-oriented law enforcement services which enhances the state’s criminal justice system,” said Lt. Colonel Tim Chung of the Technical Services Division.
