More Crime Labs Desperately Needed In Tennessee According To Report

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

More crime labs are desperately needed in the state according to a 81-page report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

In a meeting earlier this month, the commission presented its findings. The report is the result of a request made last May from state lawmakers with concerns about the backlog in forensic testing that is only growing worse with time. 

One solution could be to renovate or expand the state’s existing labs, which would cost millions, something the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is considering.

Justice is delayed when forensic evidence gets backlogged. Without timely testing, investigations, and ultimately prosecutions are put on the back burner while the public’s safety and trust in the systems meant to keep people safe diminish. 

Crime has decreased in the state since 2021, but because of the evidence backlog, violent crime is on the rise. From receipt of evidence to completed report, the state average is 19.2 weeks, just slightly less than the national average for fiscal year 2023-2024.

The report highlighted the Eliza Fletcher case that occurred three years ago in Memphis. Due to the testing backlog, the man who abducted and murdered Fletcher had failed to be identified as the culprit in a sexual assault case that had been committed in 2021. The year that Fletcher was killed, turnaround times for sexual assault cases hit a high of 45 weeks.

TBI has worked to decrease that wait time with the turnaround for sexual assault requests declining to 16.9 weeks by the beginning of 2025.

Violent forensic biology evidence requests have increased from January 2022, when the turnaround averaged 25 weeks, to 38 weeks by 2025. Meanwhile, analysis for firearms has increased from 42 weeks to 67.

Alarmingly, the report states that the violent crime rate for Tennessee two years ago was well over the national average of 374.4 per 100,000 people, with the state coming in at 628.2 per 100,000 Tennesseans.

The state has just three forensic labs: Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville. In the early 2000s, there were five but funding cuts in 2003 closed a Chattanooga lab and the original lab in Jackson, forcing a lab in Memphis to take all of West Tennessee’s forensic evidence. Ultimately, this proved to be too much for the Memphis office.

A new facility was eventually opened in Jackson in 2021, allowing the Memphis lab to close, but the Jackson lab is already out of space.

According to the report, as of June, TBI’s backlog had grown to more than 7,000 requests for testing. While this number is roughly 3,000 less than the previous year, without funding for adequate lab space, and staff, the state will continue to get behind, especially as projections place an additional million residents in Tennessee by 2044.

A plan to add 3,500 square feet and renovate an additional 6,000 square feet to the tune of $10 million is underway already in Jackson. Upon completion, TBI will have the ability to expand its forensic biology testing and create between 10 and 23 more positions. 

The report suggested doing away with the Knoxville lab and instead dedicating 37,000 square feet of a new 75,800 square foot headquarters building for lab space. This would allow Knoxville to add firearms and toolmark identification to their services, as well as print analysis.

No cost projections were given for new construction or possible renovation of existing lab space in Nashville but the plan also suggested the creation of 49,999 square feet of office space in Chattanooga specializing in forensic biology, chemistry and toxicology.

Meanwhile, the City of Memphis and Shelby County are looking at the possibility of opening their own lab modeled after the one that Metro Nashville Police Department operates.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.