ATLANTA — The Georgia Bureau of Investigations director vowed to lawmakers Wednesday to address the extreme backlog in the state’s crime labs.

As of Jan. 1, the crime labs operated by the bureau are backlogged with 44,020 cases, up from 37,000 cases in Feb. 2019.

While the governor’s proposed budget funnels dollars toward the Anti-Gang Task Force and reduces dollars for crime lab staff, Director Vic Reynolds told lawmakers during budget hearings that addressing the backlog is his top priority — above all else.

“We did a lot of work in 2019 on the issue of gangs and we have more work to do there,” Reynolds sad, “but there is no issue to me any more important today than addressing the issues of this crime lab….I give you my word I will do the very best I can to make sure those issues are looked at from top to bottom.”

Of the backlogged cases, 77% require forensic biology — processes like DNA testing — and chemistry — drug identification.

House Bill 470 that passed during last session and became effective April, 2019, sent for the first time DNA collection and analysis for first offenders to the bureau. The change added about 8,000 cases to the bureau’s list, Reynolds said.

Of all the backlogged cases, 46% range from 31 to 180 days old — the ideal shelf life of a case. A total of 70% fall under a two year shelf life. But out of the remaining cases, 13% are between three to six years old.

“I will tell you as a former prosecutor, you shouldn’t have a case that is that old,” Reynolds said, “with the exception of perhaps a death penalty case.”

The bureau has to “think outside of the box,” to address the backlog. Reynolds told lawmakers. He has tasked his new lab director to start contacting agencies about the old cases to see where the case has gone. But outsourcing cases, he said, will be the greatest tool to reducing the backlog.

The bureau is planning on utilizing grant and federal dollars to pay for outsourcing of cases.

The state grant program allotted $350,000 to the GBI which should eliminate 1,900 to 2,000 cases, Reynolds said. A federal DNA backlog reduction grant of more than one million should knock off another 1,400.


Lawmakers expressed concern over the sexual assault kits pending in the lab that lawmakers have tried to address in past legislation.

House Bill 282 that passed last session mandated set DNA evidence of rape and similar crimes be held up to 50 years — previous law allows them to be disposed of after 10 years.

As of this week, Reynolds said, 768 sexual assault kits are pending in crime lab — that’s about three and a half month’s worth with an average of 200 cases coming in per month.

Reductions in the governor’s budget proposal eliminates three vacant scientists and two vacant lab technicians in fiscal year 2020 and eliminates nine vacant scientists positions, two vacant lab positions and freezes two additional scientists positions in fiscal year 2021.

“Our job is to make sure that in the end that justice is done,” Reynolds said, “and certainly a big part of that is having a crime lab that is responsive,” that handles cases in a timely fashion.”