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Draft crime-labs report recommends expansion, rapid-DNA review and added digital-forensics scope
Summary
A draft commission report recommended expanding forensic lab capacity, prioritized hires for overburdened disciplines and consideration of rapid DNA at booking stations; commissioners asked staff to add digital forensics analysis to the report’s scope and requested cost estimates.
The commission reviewed a draft report on crime lab capacity that recommends strategic expansion of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s forensic facilities and operational changes to reduce backlogs.
Presenter Madison Thorne summarized findings that TBI has increased staff to reduce backlogs but remains constrained by laboratory space and uneven turnaround times across disciplines. The draft endorses TBI’s real estate strategic plan: expand Jackson, renovate and expand Nashville, replace Knoxville with a larger facility (including firearms testing) and establish a smaller Chattanooga lab focused on toxicology and drug evidence. The report also recommends operational improvements such as process-improvement methods, regional partnerships for shared services, and examining whether rapid DNA testing at booking stations could be authorized and implemented.
Members asked about digital forensics capacity. While the draft reviewed digital forensics, Thorne said the commission had not made specific recommendations for it. Commissioner (mover) proposed, and members supported, a formal request that staff add digital forensics to the scope of the report to analyze demand, supply and potential regional partnership models (for example, a Jefferson County-style regional center). The motion to request staff include digital forensics in the report was seconded and carried.
Members also asked staff to summarize potential costs for proposed lab expansions and to assess how new facilities coming online would affect historical backlog data. Thorne said TBI’s real estate plan includes proposed projects and that some expansion projects had not yet secured funding.
Why it matters: forensic laboratory turnaround times affect prosecutions and public safety; the draft lays out capacity options and operational steps that could reduce evidence backlogs if accompanied by funding and implementation planning.
Next steps: staff will add digital forensics analysis to the report’s scope, seek cost estimates and, where possible, model how planned facility builds would change backlog projections.
