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Houston's Police Chief Responds to Crime Lab Issues
Raised by State Legislators
January 24, 2005 -- The
following is Chief Harold L. Hurtt's official position concerning
the letter faxed to Mayor Bill White dated January 24, 2005, from
Senator John Whitmire, Senator Tommy Williams, and statements
made by Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst regarding the HPD Crime
Lab. The senators strongly encourage that the City request assistance
from the Texas Rangers to oversee this review in our processing
of the 280 boxes of crime scene material.
After reading communications from the Senators
and Lieutenant Governor
Dewhurst, we understand they want us to employ an independent
overseer from
the Department of Public Safety for Project 280 and explore the
concept of
regional crime labs. We welcome this offer of state assistance.
We welcome
someone with credibility to work shoulder to shoulder with our
project team.
In furtherance of this recommendation, an oral request was made
today of
Colonel Thomas A. Davis, Jr., Director, Texas Department of Public
Safety, to
provide an overseer from the Texas Department of Public Safety
for the
duration of Project 280. A formal request will follow.
I raised the possibility of State assistance
in the early stages of this
project, and I suggested months ago that regional DNA labs be
established and
managed by the State. I still believe regional DNA Labs to be
a good concept
subject to statewide regulatory authority; however, as a practical
matter, we
recognize that the state DNA Lab currently has a six-month backlog
of cases.
With our workload, our DNA processing demand could possibly create
a one-year
backlog for Houston cases. Nevertheless, we will be happy to explore
the idea
of a fair funding process for a Regional DNA lab.
We want to regain the confidence of the senate,
community, and Criminal
Justice System. We have not remained stagnant regarding this issue.
We are
approximately 75% complete with categorizing evidence associated
with Project
280. We are also well on the way to accreditation of our crime
lab, with the
exception of only the DNA section. We all can agree that we must
have
accurate and prompt investigations so that crime victims receive
justice, and
we are working with the District Attorney's Office concerning
any death
penalty cases that might be affected.
For additional information, please
contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.
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