Houston CSI: Not Coming Soon to Your TV

Many crime labs won't meet state's accreditation rules
Smaller police departments say no one will collect, test their evidence
By PAM EASTON, Associated Press
Aug. 28, 2005, 11:01PM

PASADENA - Many police departments will be left waiting in line for other agencies to analyze evidence so it can be admitted at trial since state records show only one-third of the state's unaccredited crime labs will meet the accreditation standard by Thursday's deadline.

They face a 2003 law that requires labs to achieve standards required for accreditation by Thursday. Without accreditation, the labs are banned from introducing evidence for criminal trials.

That means large police departments will have to forgo some analysis. Officials at smaller departments say they will have no one to collect and test their crime scene evidence and one private lab in business for decades plans to close.

"We still don't know how devastating the impact is going to be, but it is going to be huge," Mansfield Police Chief Steve Noonkester said. "It is going to hurt every small city in the state."

Eighteen labs, 13 operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety, already were accredited. Those labs will now have to analyze the evidence from departments that aren't accredited while trying to deal with a DPS backlog of 1,100 DNA cases, said spokeswoman Tela Mange.

Well, I guess we won't be seeing any CSI programs out of Houston, unless it is "Houston, Keystone CSI" This is an intolerable situation. It is time for taxpayers to take back local goverment and require top quality performance from all of our civil servants. Mayor White may be the best we've had in recent memory, but he can't do his job alone, and even then he needs to be held to high standards.

Full Story: Crime Labs

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