BEXAR COUNTY – The Bexar County Criminal Investigation Lab has three sections: firearms, drug seizures, and DNA.
All three have backlogged cases, which have been unworked after 30 days.
KSAT is looking into each of those three backlogs in detail, figuring out why they exist and what’s being done about them.
The backlog in the drug seizure department has its own specific causes, and it has to do with the types of drugs being seized.
“All the sludges, slimes, pills, powders, anything suspected of being a controlled substance, is submitted to us for analysis,” said lab director Orin Dym.
Dym describes the backlog in the drug seizure department as a rollercoaster.
“For a long time here, we’re relatively good at what we’re turning around, and then we see an increase, and then it bolts up,” he said.
KSAT requested five years’ worth of data to get a comprehensive picture of what has been happening with the backlog.
In 2021 and 2022, things looked good, with the lab even bringing the backlog of 740 to zero.
However, around March 2023, things started to spike. Dym said part of the reason for that has to do with marijuana.
“Our caseload used to be about 10% marijuana. It’s now about 40%, and the analysis of marijuana and THC takes about three times longer than other drugs,” Dym said.
With other drugs like meth or cocaine, they just test whether or not it’s present. However, with THC, some levels are legal in Texas, so analysts have to see if it meets that threshold.
“This month, we got in a record 765 submissions for analysis. We go back in time a bit here, we were only getting in 400 to 500 cases,” Dym said.
On top of that, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office changed its policy in October 2023 to include testing drugs under a quarter of a gram, which wasn’t done before.
“Well, that’s about 2,000 items additionally we were looking at,” Dym said.
The backlog reached a peak of almost 4,600 cases in May of this year, prompting Dym to seek assistance from other crime labs.
“We had to outsource. The contract was signed in April; first cases went out in May, and that’s when you start to see this dramatic decline,” Dym said.
Pointing out the recent numbers on a graph, Dym said, “2,445 cases. That’s down from a high of about 4,500 cases six months ago. That’s significant headway.”
They have requested additional employees from the county, and those positions have been approved.
“We are going to continue with the outsourcing right now to help get this backlog to zero. We got two positions this year. We’re in the middle of recruitment. We’ll get those up and trained. Training takes seven months,” Dym said.
What he wants the public to know is that there are strict priorities for these drug seizure cases.
“Our first priority is in-custody, people in jail. That list has been maintained under 30 days through this whole process. When we look at this backlog, these are mostly at-large cases,” Dym said.
He confirmed people are not sitting in jail waiting for his team to do their work.
As for the next priority, Dym said, “Cases that the DA’s need a lab report to indict, because they have timelines they’re working with.”
He said there are already far fewer of those cases as they begin to make headway, whittling down the backlog.
Soon, the goal is for the backlog to get back to zero.
While the number of drug seizures seems to stay high, Dym is testing out new technologies that may help tackle cases faster.
The crime lab also moves to a new facility in May. More space is expected to help with efficiency.
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