Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Department Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Virginia DFS reports new central laboratory progress, staffing hires and plans to reduce DNA backlog
Summary
Department of Forensic Science Director Linda Jackson updated the Scientific Advisory Committee on central laboratory construction progress, new hires and pilot LIMS pre-log testing, new grants including a $2 million CBRE award for DNA, and plans to create a PERC processing unit and outsource selected non-person cases to reduce DNA turnaround times.
Director Linda Jackson told the Scientific Advisory Committee the Department of Forensic Science(DFS) is seeing steady progress on its new central laboratory and statewide operations hub, describing a three-story lab with a medical examiner wing and a penthouse for mechanical systems that is "starting to take shape." She said supervisors have toured the site and that drone footage shows construction advancing.
Jackson said DFS expanded trainings for attorneys and judges on breath-alcohol and toxicology testing and that the agency is close to rolling out pre-log functionality in its Forensic Advantage laboratory information management system after successful preliminary beta tests with partner agencies. "We have now done some preliminary beta testing with a couple of agencies where we've had evidence that was actually submitted, and it went all the way through to where you could write a report," she said.
On casework and staffing, Jackson acknowledged persistent DNA turnaround-time challenges. She described a plan to create a PERC (physical evidence recovery kit) processing unit with five new forensic biology screener positions to triage assault kits and produce simpler reports, and said two additional forensic scientist positions funded in the recent budget are in interview. To reduce backlog pressure, DFS plans to outsource selected lower-complexity property- and possession-type DNA cases to private laboratories under contracts with MOUs and customer notifications.
The director also reviewed data projects: DFS is developing a publicly accessible drug dashboard that will use NFLIS data for monthly, population-normalized trends and suppress low-count cells (fewer than four) to protect privacy. Jackson noted the agencys 2023 drug trends report showed increases in illicit opioids, some fentanyl analogs and designer drugs, and that methamphetamine has overtaken cocaine in prevalence among identified substances.
On funding, Jackson said DFS expects to request carryover for previously budgeted funds to complete procurement of evidential breath instruments and described potential use of the states MELP financing program as an alternative. She also announced grant awards including a CBRE block grant of just over $2,000,000 focused on DNA and two highway-safety grants to support breath-alcohol and toxicology staffing and training.
DFS will demonstrate its new case statistics dashboard at a future meeting and proceed with hiring and contract work designed to reduce turnaround times. Jackson characterized many of the changes as incremental steps to increase capacity while preserving data privacy and report quality.
