Title
Motion Expressing the Sense of Council of Allegheny County urging the Chief Executive to locate a suitable facility to permanently house the Allegheny County Crime Lab as soon as practicable.
Body
WHEREAS, the Allegheny County Crime Lab analyzes evidence for each of the County's municipal police departments each year, most notably in the areas of toxicology, forensic serology, and drug chemistry; and
WHEREAS, the Toxicology Section analyzes approximately 1,500 Medical Examiner's cases each in order to ascertain causes of death, and approximately 2,500 driving under the influence cases each year in order to determine whether prosecution for DUI is warranted; and
WHEREAS, Forensic Serology Section examines physical evidence, including DNA samples, submitted in criminal cases, primarily homicides, sexual assaults, burglaries, robberies and hit and run accidents in order to identify and characterize such evidence and compare it to known standards; and
WHEREAS, the Forensic Chemistry Section analyzes physical evidence to determine whether controlled substances are present or not, with approximately 6,000 cases submitted for analysis each year; and
WHEREAS, due to the character of the work done by the Crime Lab, prosecutions cannot proceed in many cases without the results of the lab's testing, and this testing process is in may cases hampered by the unsuitability of the space in which the Crime Lab is currently located; and
WHEREAS, any significant backlog in the processing of the lab's results is potentially detrimental to the administration of justice, and can contribute to the difficulty experienced in bringing individuals to trial in accordance with their Constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial; and
WHEREAS, as of February 2006, the Forensic Serology Section had a backlog of 89 cases awaiting results, the Toxicology Section had a backlog of 297 cases, the Drug Chemistry Section had a backlog of 447 cases, and the Fir...
Click here for full text