Crime lab closure to create 'burden'

The Northwest Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Summerville, Ga., will close in March, leaving 10 area counties to take evidence to Atlanta for processing.

The Summerville lab is one of three labs selected for closing due to declining state revenues. Labs in Columbus and Moultrie, Ga., also will close, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.

"Certainly it will be a burden on law enforcement in Northwest Georgia," Mr. Bankhead said.

GBI selected the three labs last year in preparation for budget cuts, but the Georgia Legislature allocated nine months' worth of funding to keep the labs going this summer.

Mr. Bankhead said that, even when money does become available, the first priority is to hire and fill vacant positions. There are 281 authorized positions at all seven labs in the state, he said, 56 spots have not been filled because of budget constraints.

After the Legislature granted the special funding, GBI assessed all regional crime labs to find which were the most cost effective. The three labs chosen for closing were the same ones that were recommended last year for closure, he said.

Tentative estimates show that the GBI will save $300,000 this year and possibly $700,000 in a full year of operation once the three labs are closed, he said. Most of the cost is overhead and building maintenance, he said, since the eight employees at the Summerville lab will be allowed to relocate to another lab.

There are seven labs in the state -- the three slated for closure, a headquarters lab in Atlanta and labs in Augusta, Savannah, Macon and Cleveland.

Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers called the decision a "rolling snowball" that puts a heavy burden on local taxpayers.

"It just doesn't make sense," Sheriff Summers said. "We've worked very hard with our legislators to allocate the funds to keep the crime lab open in Summerville."

The sheriff said the closing would not only cost money for travel but take detectives away from cases for at least a day on each trip, slowing down the investigative process. That will delay prosecutions and keep many charged with crimes in jails longer, which costs the county money for feeding, housing and caring for inmates in custody, he said.

"A person sitting in jail is a burden on the taxpayer," the sheriff said.

Lookout Mountain Judicial District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin said he feared that the lab closing could create the types of backlogs seen just a few years ago when labs were underfunded and understaffed.

In the early 2000s, drug cases would take six to eight months for results, Mr. Franklin said. But when labs were fully staffed and funded, the same tests might take two to three weeks, he said.

"It just means more work to get the job done," he said.

Longer test times keep prosecutors from moving forward with cases, he said. During trials in which crime lab witnesses are needed, bringing them in from Atlanta will make case scheduling more difficult, he said.

Beyond financial problems, there are intangible costs.

Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker said that "the problem is that all types of analysis will be slowed, including DNA, fingerprints and death investigations."

"This ultimately trickles down to the victims having to wait longer and longer for resolution of their case," he said.