Citation

Ropero Miller JD, Mullen LD, Speaker PJ. Forensic Sci. Int. Synergy 2022; 5: e100292.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100292

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Over the past decade, forensic toxicology laboratories have experienced an accelerated increase in the demand for toxicological analyses without a corresponding growth in resources. This growth in demand outweighs the growth in resources to meet those demands, resulting in consequences like an inevitable increase in turnaround times and increased backlog [1]. The increased demand for testing may be attributed to several sources, including deaths caused by the abuse of emerging drugs, heightened polypharmacy drug use patterns, or bottlenecks in services as some jurisdictions legalize the use of previously controlled substances [[2], [3], [4]]. For instance in 2016 and 2017, over 28,000 deaths were credited to the ingestion of synthetic opioids [5]. This incredible increase in overdoses has left forensic laboratories experiencing greater testing backlogs and ultimately less time to execute a proactive analytical response improving detection of emerging misused and abused substances. The societal costs from substance abuse are extensive and include treatment and healthcare costs, lost productivity, death, and costs to the justice system. These justice system costs include labor needs, analytical costs, and drug surveillance and preparedness among police, forensic laboratories and courts, and correctional facilities. Faster recognition of the drug landscape through analytical surveillance and intelligence and an anticipation of needed changes are required to better understand the economic implications of the demands of increased and novel toxicological testing that can provide a sentinel prediction of jurisdictional trends.

The 2019 Department of Justice Report to Congress on the status and needs of crime laboratories highlights the broad impact of the opioid crisis on limited public sector resources [6]. For these forensic laboratories, maintaining status quo workflow requires over 900 additional positions. Jurisdictions have been slow to react with sufficient funding to keep up with the growing demands for laboratory services. As a result, turnaround times lengthen, and the backlog grows...

Language: en