State police face ballistics backlog

Sunday, March 10, 2002

By The Associated Press

The state police are discouraging local authorities from sending them guns used in suicides or minor crimes in hopes of reducing a ballistics testing backlog of some 1,200 cases statewide.

As of February, state police ballistics examiners had a backlog of 1,267 cases, including five police shootings and 113 homicides, said Maj. John Capriotti, director of the state bureau of forensic services.

That number is nearly double the backlog of 752 cases in 1999.

The state police operate six laboratories to handle forensic work for 67 counties. Only Philadelphia and Allegheny counties handle their own cases.

In an attempt to stem the growing backlog, the state police in November stopped routinely accepting guns involved in cases that aren't likely to result in an arrest, such as suicides, accidental shootings and firearms found but not linked to any crime.

"What we are doing is asking the officers to take a look and let us know if you really need this," Capriotti said. "Our priority has to be to the officer investigating serious crimes."

The policy has caused a bit of confusion.

Fayette County Coroner Phillip Reilly said he had been rejected in his attempts to have state police examine guns used in apparent suicides.

"In suicides, ballistics are fundamental. You need those tests for assurance," Reilly told the Herald-Standard of Uniontown for a story Monday. "Suicides are just more difficult to analyze."

Reilly said he had used state police ballistic tests for 19 years and they could help ferret out murders disguised as suicides. The county has a backlog of eight suicides in the past three months, and Reilly said he might have to hire private labs to do the tests.

"We're going to get them done. I have too many people saying this is important," Reilly said.

Capriotti said cases weren't being refused, but that some might have to wait.

"We will still do them. We won't turn anyone away," Capriotti said. "People know if they have something, we are going to do it."

The policy is intended to let labs catch up with the backlog, which was caused by more requests from law enforcement -- 2,350 last year compared with 1,875 in 1999 -- and too few ballistics examiners, Capriotti said.

The forensics bureau has gotten a big boost over the past three years with $7 million more in its budget. State police have hired 48 more technicians and bought new forensics equipment.

Ballistics has lagged behind because it takes 2 1/2 years to train an examiner.

"You can't say, 'I want to be a ballistics examiner, what school do I go to?' " Capriotti said. "There are none."

Capriotti said five recruits were close to completing their training, which will almost double the number of examiners to 11.

Post Gazette

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2002