Bexar County commissioners voted this week to hire Armstrong Forensic Laboratories to provide certain testing for controlled substances and provide court testimony.
The county will pay the outside lab up to $600,000 for the work to be completed by September 2025.
The county crime lab had a backlog of 4,168 drug cases in January. Armstrong Forensic Laboratories will take on 1,582 of those cases.
According to documents from the Bexar County Commissioners Court, the extra help should restore turnaround times to normal.
Marijuana cases make up 30% of cases, while 70% cases involve “powered drugs.”
The increased backlog has created an issue for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in prosecuting cases.
The crime lab reports that it has previously worked with the District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety to resolve the backlog.
Of all crimes in a typical year, drug cases can make up to 80% of the lab’s overall work.
Read TPR’s profile of the lab from 2021 below:
The week of Sept. 19-25 is National Forensic Sciences Week. The Bexar County Crime Lab invited Texas Public Radio to tour the facility to see the people who work to solve local crimes every day.
