A state audit released Tuesday reveals that the drug unit in San Francisco’s scandal-plagued crime lab was overworked and understaffed.
The audit by the state Department of Justice and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office said that lab staff was overwhelmed trying to meet 48-hour deadlines analyzing drug evidence so prosecutors can quickly charge suspects.
The audit said the scrutinized lab had at least three technicians conducting drug tests from last July to December, 2009. The lab handles about 14,000 drug cases annually, with each technician handling 5,000 to 7,000 cases per year, the audit said. The state’s average is slightly more than 1,000 cases per year, the report said.
“The stress and strain of trying to meet the demands of court has resulted in sacrificing quality for quanity,” the audit said. “This is evident throughout … and possibly provided the opportunity for evidence tampering and abuse of the evidence control system.” The audit also said that the lab staff is poorly trained, and improperly tracked and stored evidence. The report suggested hiring more staff and getting more lab space to handle the volume of drug evidence.
Police Chief George Gascon said Tuesday that the department will hire at least six more technicians over the next several months and will continue outsourcing its drug tests to other labs paying between $75 to $125 per test. He said the blame lies squarely on the police department. “It was under our control, and we will fix them,” Gascon said. “It’s neglect that has run deep across the board, and we’re paying the price of not taking care of business.”
Gascon gave no timetable on when the lab will reopen. He said the department will follow the audit’s recommendations. Drug testing at the lab has been shut down since March 9 amid allegations that a former longtime lab technician Deborah Madden, 60, stole cocaine evidence. Madden, who retired this month after 29 years, has not been charged.
The report also discovered the lab’s failure to calibrate scales used for weighing drugs and depended largely on outdated testing methods. A drug’s weight is significant on how a defendant is charged. Attorney General Jerry Brown said Tuesday that should not be taken lightly.
The audit said good practices at the lab “have been repeatedly shortchanged in favor of high case throughput.” It noted that technicians often left drug evidence in unsecured boxes or lockers ripe for possible theft. The report also said the techs did not record when they may have reopened evidence samples, creating the possibility for tampering. It recommended taping- or heat-sealing the evidence to avoid possible tampering.
Elsewhere, neglect runs high as well. Colorado had a faulty fridge that jeopardized DNA evidence. Evidence has been found tossed in the trash. Rape kits have been left rotting in an unplugged refrigerator in the former Ford Heights Police Department, in Illinois. The guns had not been registered with the state as having been seized by police either. The police department moved and nobody thought about making one more trip through the building to make sure all rooms were cleared!
President Obama, we need federal oversight here!
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