Ayotte Continues Push for Resources to Help Address Worsening Backlog at NH State Police Forensic Lab

Press Release

Continuing her work to assist the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory in decreasing the overwhelming backlog of drug samples, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee to urge the committee to prioritize strong funding for the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Recently, New Hampshire received a $284,747 Coverdell grant to help decrease the amount of backlogged cases at the state crime lab.

"As a result of this ongoing epidemic, the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory has seen a dramatic increase in drug samples submitted for analysis and has been working diligently to reduce the subsequent backlog. We must help ensure that adequate resources are available to analyze the resulting increase of samples that are being submitted to forensic labs," wrote Ayotte.

Ayotte continued, "The Coverdell program provides critical resources for state and local governments to help improve the quality and efficiency of forensic science and medical examiner services and can help enhance efforts to eliminate backlogs in the analysis of forensic evidence. The program also supports the training and hiring of laboratory personnel. We must ensure the timely and effective analysis of drug samples in order to support and enhance law enforcement's efforts to remove these drugs and high-level traffickers from our communities."

Ayotte has consistently welcomed Department of Justice (DOJ) grants to strengthen New Hampshire's response to the opioid abuse epidemic, including funds to help reduce the backlog at the state crime lab. In response to October 2015 reports that the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory was facing an overwhelming backlog of drug samples to process, Ayotte called on DOJ to work closely with the lab to reduce the backlog. DOJ has awarded the New Hampshire Department of Justice a Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grants Program grant of $284,747 to support the work of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the State Police Forensic Laboratory. Ayotte is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016, which would reauthorize the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grants program. The legislation passed the Senate in June 2016.

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