DPS to charge local police for crime lab use
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A new Department of Public Safety Crime Lab fee schedule may cause investigators to have to make economic decisions regarding crime, according to Safford Police Chief John Griffin.
Recently, the Arizona Legislature, in an attempt to offset a $2 billion deficit, cut approximately $7.8 million from the DPS crime lab budget. The figure is roughly half the DPS crime lab’s previous budget.
The move forced the department to begin charging other law enforcement agencies for use of its crime lab.
According to an e-mail from Cheyenne Walsh, legislative associate for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, the DPS has proposed three types of payment. The first type would divide the crime lab bill by county; the second would divide it by the 150-plus jurisdictions, and the third would be a “pay as you go” fee schedule for each service used by each jurisdiction. Walsh wrote that while the DPS has not decided how and when the jurisdictions will be billed, they are likely to receive official billing statements prior to Sept. 26. She added that the DPS does not have the statutory authority to collect the charges until after that date.
The DPS Crime Lab fee schedule itemizes different tests and gives a separate price for each. The schedule lists a toxicology determination on a specimen of blood or urine for DUI purposes will cost $220.50 each while biological screening for DNA analysis ranges from $125 per small case (one to five items) to $500 per large case (21 to 40 ite).
According to a DPS Crime Lab cost summary, based on case submissions from the 2007/08 fiscal year, local agencies will owe the following:
• Safford Police Department: $40,440.93.
• Thatcher Police Depart-ment: $28,783.36.
• Pima Police Depart-ment: $4,950.77.
• Graham County Sher-iff’s Office: $13,070.62.
Chief Griffin said the decision will not only cause a hardship on law enforcement agencies, but it affects his 2008/09 fiscal year budget that was done in July.
“We’ve already adopted our budget,” he said. “This $40,000 is over half of my patrol operating budget. I’m going to get billed for this, and I have no way to even budget for it.”
Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said the decision could have a negative impact on the general public’s safety if police agencies cannot afford to have testing performed.
Griffin said his investigators will be forced to make economic decisions about crime.
“If we have to do a rape kit or something, what do I do?” he said.
“Do I go to the victim and say, ‘Gee I’d like to send this out, but we can’t afford the DPS lab costs’? How do I explain that to victims?”
