Recommendations

It is the belief of the DPSCA that solutions exist to alleviate a majority of the issues facing the Texas DPS Crime Lab:      • Increased salaries and benefits      • Establishment of a career progression system encompassing the entire career      • Compensation for additional education      • Funding for additional space and equipment If a true progression was put in a place with salaries comparable to equivalent state and private laboratories, we believe that experienced Forensic Scientists would be attracted to positions within the DPS and would be more likely to stay with the DPS. With highly trained personnel and adequate space and equipment, the drain on the resources of the DPS would cease and allow the Texas DPS Crime Lab to continue to be the leader in forensic analysis in the future, all at an overall savings to the State. The Governor's Criminal Justice Advisory Council has recognized these problems and has recommendations along the same lines, but it will require a bill and legislative approval in order to be enacted. Excerpt from Forensic Science Committee CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL Recommendations to Governor Rick Perry 3. Secure DPS Funding A) Salaries for Forensic Scientists: $10,000/scientist (times 170 personnel) = $1,700,000. This increase would enable the Department to pay personnel a salary higher than their current payroll classification group. Justification: Texas must improve forensic scientist’s and management salaries to keep qualified individuals from seeking employment in higher-paying agencies. This has been a continuing problem. B) Provide funding for new replacement crime lab facilities:                 a) McAllen (25,000 square feet)                 b) Corpus Christi (12,000 square feet)                 c) Abilene (5,000 square feet) Justification: The DPS laboratories have sought federal grant funds and have also used monies from within the Department to add services. The laboratories are currently operating at maximum capacity. DPS can meet the demands of law enforcement and the courts for quicker analysis only if the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds and personnel to handle the case load. C) Provide funding to expand crime lab facilities in:              a) El Paso (add 3,000 square feet)              b) Lubbock (add 10,000 square feet)              c) Tyler (add 7,000 square feet)              d) Austin (add 8,000 square feet) Justification: New technologies (new testing) always have cost and time constraints associated with the technology. These have been solved in the past by acquiring federal grants to “buy into the technology” and properly validate the technology. An example is the current Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA technology in use today. The problem with the “new technologies” is that federal dollars are not always available or available on a time table to fill existing needs. A state funded emergency grant program for emerging technology and personnel needs for crime laboratories would solve this problem. Space within the laboratories is at a critical point. Larger laboratory facilities are a must in order to add more personnel and equipment to meet the demands. Regional Crime Labs: approximately half of the violent crime cases in Texas (murder, rape, assault) occur in the following five counties: Dallas, Tarrant, Harris, Bexar, and Travis. For the most part, city and/or county crime laboratories (not DPS crime labs) in those counties provide the crime lab services. It might make sense for the state to appropriate funding for the crime lab services in those counties, either by establishing state labs there, or providing funding to the existing city and/or county labs. D) Expand current state appropriation for laboratory equipment from $400,000/yr to $1,000,000/yr. Expand operating funds for DNA programs by $1,000,000 per year to cover the cost of DNA typing kits and other supplies. E) Because the incoming quantity of forensic cases climbs each year, we will need additional Forensic Scientists to examine evidence. We project a need for twenty- two additional personnel in FY 2008 and fourteen more in 2009. Salaries for these additional personnel with benefits will be approximately $1.1 million in FY 2008 and $1.8 million in FY 2009, based upon currently approved salary levels.   Crime laboratory employees are dedicated to the field of Forensic Science and will always do the best that can be done with the tools and resources provided. We are requesting your support and assistance for the DPS Crime Laboratories and their employees. This is an integral part to any commitment to the safety of the citizens of the Great State of Texas. The Texas DPSCA looks forward to working closely to fulfilling this commitment. Return to Critical Issues home