Arizona Budget Limits DUI Evidence Testing

At the beginning of this year, the Arizona legislature announced that the state's crime lab budget would be cut in half, leaving only $7.8 million annually for testing. In response to this cut and in an effort to curb excessive spending, the Payson Police Department has decided to hold back about eighty percent of physical evidence processed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).

With the adoption of this new policy, evidence would be processed on a case by case basis, depending on whether the case was going to progress to trial. This differs from the Payson Police Department's past policy where, for example, a blood sample from anyone arrested for driving under the influence was automatically sent to the DPS crime lab for processing.

Last year, the town of Payson ran up a crime lab bill of nearly $200,000 after submitting 800 different evidence samples for testing. In an effort to reduce the cost burden on the small town, the Department of Public Safety shifted funds from the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission and applied the funds to the city's crime lab bill. While the cost to the city was sharply reduced as a result of this action, a remaining balance of $30,000 for last year's services still remained to be paid.

Even with this drop in price, the town is ill prepared to pay off this debt because the city's 2008 budget does not include any allocution of funds for evidence processing. Therefore, the town of Payson has been forced to decide which cases truly warrant spending on evidence processing. Chief Don Engler explained the Payson Police Department's decision to limit evidence testing, stating, "We have to limit our expenses as best we can. We are still in a holding pattern trying to see what we want to do."

Although Payson is attempting to cut costs with as little impact on pending cases as possible by addressing the request for evidence testing on a case by case basis, this new policy forces prosecutors to decide whether they want to go to trial before having the necessary evidence in hand. Detective Matt Van Camp stated, "This makes the prosecutor's job harder. Crime labs also prove people innocent, not just guilty."

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