* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. FOR THE HOUSTON [00:00:01] FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER TO [Houston Forensic Science] ORDER, IT IS 9:00 AM. HAPPY FRIDAY TO EVERYONE. I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A NICE HOLIDAY WEEK WEEKEND. UM, TODAY WE HAVE, UH, JUST A FEW THINGS ON THE AGENDA. UH, WE, UH, LET'S SEE. WE WILL HAVE FOUR VO VOICE VOTES TODAY, AND, UH, WE WILL MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OUR ROLL CALL. SO, MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES. MADAM CHAIR CHAIRWOMAN MITCHELL. HERE, VICE CHAIR LYNCH. KEY DIRECTOR VASQUEZ. DIRECTOR HILDER. PRESENT. DIRECTOR MEDINA. HERE. DIRECTOR GOODWIN? HERE. DIRECTOR COHEN? HERE. DIRECTOR MOORE. DIRECTOR HUFF. DIRECTOR CALABRESE HERE. ALRIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A QUORUM AND I AM GLAD TO BE BACK. I HEARD SEVERAL REPORTS THAT OUR VICE CHAIR, MARY LINSKY, DID A GREAT JOB OF MY ABSENCE AT THE LAST MEETING. UH, SO THANK YOU MADAM VICE CHAIR IN ABSENTIA. UM, I APPRECIATE HER STEPPING IN AND, UH, PRESIDING. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS OUR PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION. UH, WE NOW OPEN THE FLOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND INVITE ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THAT WISHES TO SPEAK TO COME TO THE PODIUM AND ADDRESS THE BOARD. WE ASK ALL SPEAKERS TO SIGN IN AT THE FRONT OF THE ROOM SO WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE AND THAT ALL COMMENTS WILL BE, UH, LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. YOU MAY SPEAK ON ANY MATTER, MATTER CONCERNING THE BOARD AND HFC AT THIS TIME, DO WE HAVE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO HAS SIGNED UP FOR A PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY. SEEING NO ONE, WE WILL GO AHEAD AND, UH, CLOSE THE PUBLIC. SEEING, SEEING THAT NO ONE IS HERE, UH, TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. I WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT. PERIOD. RIGHTY. UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR. THIS IS THE READING OF THE DRAFT MINUTES FROM MAY 13TH, 2022 BOARD MEETING. THIS IS A CONSIDERATION OF ANY PROPOSED CORRECTIONS, IF ANY, AND THEN APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. THIS WILL BE A VOICE VOTE FOR EVERYONE. JUST AS A REMINDER, UH, MEMBERS TODAY, WE WILL CONSIDER THE MEETING MINUTES FROM MAY 13TH. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED? OKAY. HEARING NONE AT THIS TIME, WE WILL CONDUCT A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOVE. OKAY. DIRECTOR COHEN, UH, MADE THE MOTION DIRECTOR HILDER SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. IF EVERYONE WILL UNMUTE THEIR MICS AT THIS TIME FOR THE VOICE VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY. THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. ALRIGHT. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT. UH, LET'S SEE. I HAVE JUST A COUPLE COMMENTS AND, AND THEN WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD. UM, FIRST I WANNA THANK OUR BOARD MEMBERS FOR ATTENDING TODAY WITH THE 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY THIS WEEK, VACATION PLANS AND ALL THE EVENTS OF SUMMER. I KNOW THE JULY MEETING CAN BE A DIFFICULT ONE TO KEEP ON OUR SCHEDULES, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ABLE TO ATTEND TODAY. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. AS A REMINDER, OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE IN SEPTEMBER, AND WE WILL BEGIN THE ANNUAL PROCESS OF LOOKING AT THE COMPANY'S PROGRESS TOWARDS ITS GOALS. WE WILL THEN TURN OUR ATTENTION TOWARDS SETTING GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. OUR MEETING CALENDAR IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE DECIDED TO ALIGN OUR BOARD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE TIMEFRAME OUR STAFF USES. THIS INCLUDES DR. STOUT'S ANNUAL EVALUATION. WE PUSH THAT DISCUSSION BACK AS WELL TO CO TO COINCIDE WITH THE ORGANIZATION'S REVIEW PERIOD. SO THAT WILL COME A LITTLE LATER IN THE YEAR. WE WILL BE SURE TO PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO PREPARE FOR THESE CONVERSATIONS. WITH SO MANY CHALLENGES FACING THE ORGANIZATION, I KNOW THE BOARD HAS HA WILL HAVE SEVERAL ROBUST DISCUSSIONS OVER THE NEXT FEW MEETINGS. UM, WITH THAT I WILL PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS CONSIDER APPROVAL OF REVISED FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET AND POSSIBLE RELATED ACTION. UM, THIS WILL ALSO BE A VOICE VOTE AS WELL. MEMBERS, AS YOU KNOW, THE BOARD APPROVE HSCS BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 DURING OUR MARCH MEETING. ACCORDING TO THE FIRST INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CORPORATION AND THE CITY, WHEN THE BOARD APPROVES THE BUDGET EACH YEAR, IT THEN GOES TO THE CITY AS A BUDGET REQUEST. AFTER THE BUDGET IS RECEIVED BY THE CITY, DR. STOUT AND H-F-S-C-C-F-O, MR. DAVID LEACH WORK CLOSELY WITH THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS THE REQUEST AND HOPEFULLY OBTAIN APPROVAL AS PRESENTED. THIS YEAR, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A BUDGET AND FUNDING ALLOCATION FOR HFSC. THAT IS A DIFFERENT FROM THE DOCUMENT THAT WE APPROVED AS A BOARD. SO WE NOW NEED TO APPROVE THE REVISED FY 23 BUDGET. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE HAD TO DO THIS, UM, AFTER CITY COUNCIL'S VOTE, AND IT MAY NOT BE THE LAST. AT [00:05:01] THIS TIME, I WILL LET DR. SPOUT AS DR. STOUT EXPLAIN THE DETAILS OF THE REVISED BUDGET FOR US TO CONSIDER DR. STOUT. GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY. OKAY. DO I HAVE THE MICROPHONE WHERE YOU CAN HEAR ME? NOPE. NOT YET. GET IT CLOSER. STILL RIGHT THERE. OKAY. UM, YEAH, SO THE, THE BUDGET THAT WE FINALLY AGREED, UH, YOU REMEMBER WE HAD 1.5 MILLION IN ARPA FUNDING THAT CAME WITH THE ONE SAFE HOUSTON PLAN. AND THEN THE ULTIMATE BUDGET THAT WAS DECIDED WAS THE 28, I GUESS 28.5 MILLION. THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO FY 22 THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR, PLUS ANOTHER 1.5 MILLION. SO WE GOT A $3 MILLION TOTAL IN ARPA GRANT FUNDS. SO THOSE ARE ONE TIME GRANT FUNDS AND THE FLAT BUDGET YEAR TO YEAR. SO WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT WE'RE USING THOSE GRANT FUNDS FOR, UM, THERE ON THE SLIDE, 2 MILLION OF IT WILL BE USED FOR TRAINING. NOW THE LOGIC IN THAT IS ACROSS COVID, WE HAVE HAD AN INCREASE IN OUR TURNOVER RATE IN STAFF, WE ESTIMATE AND TALKING WITH OTHER LABORATORIES, WE'RE KIND OF IN LINE WITH OTHER LABORATORIES. TO TRAIN A NEW ANALYST IN A FORENSIC LABORATORY TYPICALLY COSTS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 300,000 AND $500,000. THEY ARE EXPENSIVE TO TRAIN. SO THE TRAIN, AND A GOOD CHUNK OF THAT IS THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GOT AN ANALYST THAT CAN'T DO CASE WORK FOR A YEAR TO TWO YEARS. SO THEIR SALARY PLUS THOSE THAT ARE DOING THAT TRAINING, NOW THEY ARE LESS PRODUCTIVE ON CASE WORK BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING ON TRAINING. SO THE, WHAT WE HAVE COME TO THE AGREEMENT AROUND IS THAT IS A LEGITIMATE EXPENSE TO REFLECT UNDER ARPA. SO THAT'S 2 MILLION OF THE DOLLARS WILL BE FOR THOSE TRAINING EXPENSES, LABOR, OTHER EXPENSES WHERE WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN TO HELP FACILITATE SOME OF THE TRAINING WHERE WE CAN. UM, SO THAT'S THE 2 MILLION THERE. WE'VE GOT 300,000 IN THERE THAT WE HAD ALREADY TALKED ABOUT WITH ARPA FUNDS FOR OVERTIME KNOWING, AND REMEMBER FOR US OVERTIME IS IN CSU AND NIB. WE, WE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE ORGANIZATION ARE EXEMPT EMPLOYEES. SO NI AND CSU ARE HOURLY EMPLOYEES WHERE WE'VE GOT OVERTIME ELIGIBLE. UH, AND CERTAINLY THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF OVERTIME BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING RATES THAT WE'VE HAD TO RESPOND TO SCENES AND THE NUMBER OF GUNS THAT HAVE COME IN. AND THE LAST CHUNK OF IT IS 700,000 FOR OUTSOURCING OF TOXICOLOGY. SO YOU'LL RECALL WHEN WE MOVED, WE CHANGED OUT EQUIPMENT. WE WERE VALIDATING THE NEW LC, TRIPLE QUADS, AND THEN COVID HIT, WHICH PUSHED BACK VALIDATION EFFORTS AND PUSHED BACK THE ACCREDITATION SCOPE EXPANSION BECAUSE WE COULDN'T GET AN A B INTO THE LABORATORY. THANK YOU COVID, UNTIL THIS LAST SUMMER. IN THE INTERIM. WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT IS THAT CREATED THE BACKLOG OF TOXICOLOGY CASES. SO 700,000 IN THAT HELPS US OUTSOURCE THAT BACKLOG TO TRY AND GET CAUGHT BACK UP. WHAT WE TAKE OUT IS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE BUDGET. UM, IT, IT, THAT MONEY AND HOW WE HAVE TO TRY AND SPEND THE MONEY TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF THE ARPA REQUIREMENTS MEANS WE ARE HAVING TO SHIFT AROUND HOW WE DO STUFF. AS I'VE TOLD STAFF, IT WORKS OKAY THROUGH THIS NEXT YEAR. IT'S NOT GREAT, BUT IT WORKS OKAY. WE DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING DRASTIC, UH, ACROSS THE YEAR. WE CAN OPERATE PRETTY MUCH AS WE HAVE BEEN, BUT THE BETTER PART OF THE CONVERSATION TODAY LATER IS WHAT THIS IS REALLY GONNA MEAN AND WHAT WE NEED TO BE DISCUSSING WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM BECAUSE IT DOES MAKE FOR LIMITATIONS. WE'VE GOTTA BE SMARTER ABOUT HOW WE DO STUFF. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER ABOUT THE BUDGET CHANGES? ALRIGHT, SO I GUESS WHAT WE'VE GOT IS THEN THE APPROVAL OF THE MODIFIED BUDGET. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU DR. STOUT FOR, UH, LINING OUTLINING THAT AND, UH, AND, AND DISCUSSING THAT. OKAY. NOW WE WILL CONDUCT A VOICE VOTE AT THIS TIME. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REVISED FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET AS PRESENTED? SO MOVE DIRECT ME MEDINA MADE MOTION. SECOND. SECOND. GREAT DIRECTOR OWEN. UH, NO, NOT COEN. IT'S OKAY. [00:10:02] PEOPLE MIX THIS UP ALL THE TIME. I KNOW, I KNOW. . ALRIGHT. UM, ALRIGHT, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. IF YOU'LL PLEASE UN UNMUTE YOUR MIC AT THIS TIME FOR THE VOICE VOTE. UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY NAY. OKAY. THE MOTION, UH, CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALRIGHT, UH, LET'S SEE. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS US, UH, FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A BUDGET MODIFICATION TO THE SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND THE CORPORATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENHANCING THE LABORATORY'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE FORENSIC SERVICES RELATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY NEEDS ARISING OUT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC TOTAL BUDGET NOT TO EXCEED 3 MILLION FUNDED BY THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OR ARPA. THIS WILL BE A VOICE VOTE. SO, JUST AS A REMINDER, IF THE BOARD WILL RECALL DURING OUR LAST MEETING IN MAY, WE APPROVED THIS SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY TO ALLOW HFSC TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CERTAIN PANDEMIC RELATED LAB NEEDS. WE APPROVE THIS AGREEMENT UNANIMOUSLY WITH A TOTAL APPROVED BUDGET OF 1.5 MILLION. HOWEVER, AS DR. STOUT MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS AGENDA ITEM, THE APPROVED BUDGET AMOUNT HAS BEEN INCREASED WITH A FEW IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE APPROVED EXPENDITURES. OF COURSE, ANY INCREASE IN FUNDING IS ALWAYS GOOD, BUT WE NEED TO APPROVE THE CHANGE IN THE BUDGET BEFORE DR. STOUT CAN SIGN OFF ON THAT AGREEMENT. SO, AGAIN, THE AGREEMENT STAYS THE SAME, BUT THE BUDGET HAS CHANGED AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO CONSIDER. DR. STOUT, HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON IT. EVERYTHING, I THINK IT'S, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. THIS, THIS IS THE MECHANICS WITH THE, WITH THE, THE CITY IN ORDER FOR THE ARPA FUNDING TO COME TO HFSC. OKAY? ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. UH, QUICK QUESTION, JUST REFRESH MY MEMORY IF I MISSED IT, BUT HOW LONG WILL THAT A RPA FUNDING LAST? UM, WELL, WE, WE WILL, WE WILL PROBABLY END UP SPENDING ALL OF IT IN FY 23. THE WAY WE'VE GOT IT LINED OUT IS ALL, IT WILL ALL BE SPENT IN FY 23. THE ARPA FUNDING ITSELF HAS TO ALL BE OBLIGATED BY 25, WHICH JUNE 24. JUNE OF 24. OKAY. AND THEN MEANWHILE, UH, TRY TO FIND SOMETHING THAT WILL REPLACE THAT WHEN THAT GOES AWAY. THAT WILL BE AN ONGOING CONVERSATION THIS YEAR WITH THE CITY ABOUT REALLY THE BUDGET THIS YEAR AND CERTAINLY FOR NEXT FY. OKAY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. SO THIS IS ANOTHER VOICE VOTE. UH, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE A BUDGET MODIFICATION TO THE SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE CORPORATION TO ALLOCATE APA FUNDING TO HFSC WITH THE TOTAL BUDGET NOT TO EXCEED $3 MILLION? SO MOVED. ALRIGHT, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? OKAY. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY. PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MICS. UH, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? A THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. NOW WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE REMAINING AGENDA ITEMS, REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS FROM CORPORATE OFFICERS AND STAFF, WHICH WILL ONLY CONSIST OF DR. STOUT TODAY. HE WILL BE PRESENTING AGENDA ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE. SO I'M GONNA READ BOTH SO DR. STOUT CAN JUST PROCEED THROUGH THEM AS APPROPRIATE AND JUST KEEP THE FLOW GOING. . OKAY. SO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS THE REPORT FROM DR. STOUT, UH, CEO AND PRESIDENT, INCLUDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE RECENT STAFFING CHANGES, TECHNICAL SECTIONS, UPDATES, TURNAROUND TIMES, AND BACKLOGS. HE WILL ALSO PRESENT AGENDA ON ITEM NINE, WHICH IS HIS PRESENTATION REGARDING CASEWORK PRIORITIZATION AND RELATED CHALLENGES IMPACTING THE CORPORATION'S ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE REQUESTS FOR SERVICES GIVEN THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL AND ANY POSSIBLE RELATED ACTION. SO, MEMBERS, BEFORE DR. STOUT BEGINS, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE A SHORTER LIST OF PRESENTATIONS AND REPORT TODAY REPORTS TODAY. ONE OF THE REASONS WE MADE THAT CHANGE IS DR. STOUT HAS A FEW PRESSING MATTERS TO BRING TO OUR ATTENTION. UH, RECALL I ASKED FOR YOUR FEEDBACK REGARDING, REGARDING BOARD MEETINGS AND WAYS WE CAN ENSURE OUR EFFORTS ARE MORE FOCUSED AND HELPFUL TO THE ORGANIZATION. MANY OF YOU EXPRESS A DESIRE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE URGENT ISSUES THAT HFSC IS FACING. SO OUR GOAL HERE IS TO RAISE THE BOARD'S AWARENESS AND ABILITY TO SUPPORT OUR STAFF IN SOLVING THESE CHALLENGES TODAY. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT DR. STOUT WILL BE DOING. UM, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THE BOARD NEEDING TO TAKE A VOTE AT THIS TIME, BUT YOUR THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS WILL BE NEEDED TO HELP NAVIGATE THE ISSUES THAT WILL BE PRESENTED. ON THAT NOTE, DR. STOUT, WILL YOU WALK US THROUGH AGENDA ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE, PLEASE? [00:15:01] YES, I CAN. GOOD MORNING AGAIN, AND YEAH, SORRY. IT'S A, IT'S A MORNING OF A DR. STOUT RANT. UM, GOT THE PRESIDENT REPORT SLIDES THERE, DONE WITH THE BUDGET STUFF. THE NEXT, THE NEXT PRESENTATION OPERATIONS REPORT STUFF. YEAH. SO YEAH, YOU'VE, YOU'VE, UH, ALL PATIENTLY READ THROUGH MY WEEKLY RANTS ON STUFF. ONE MORE SLIDE. THERE WE GO. THERE WE GO. PERFECT. SO, A FEW OF THE THINGS FOR JUST OPERATIONALLY WHERE WE'RE AT AT THE MOMENT. COUPLE BIG HIGHLIGHTS, UH, HOMICIDE, THE, AT LEAST THE RATE OF INCREASE HAS LEVELED OFF. UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE SITTING JUST ABOUT, EVEN IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF HOMICIDES THIS CALENDAR YEAR WITH LAST CALENDAR YEAR, THAT'S AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WHERE HOMICIDE RATES HAVE JUST GONE UP AND UP AND UP. BUT THAT MEANS WE ARE STILL SITTING A LOT HIGHER THAN WE WERE TWO YEARS AGO. UM, LAST MONTH WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE PROCESSED 85 VEHICLES. THE NEXT CLOSEST MONTH WE'VE HAD WAS IN FEBRUARY WHERE WE DID 77. IT'S DIFFICULT TO EXPRESS JUST HOW MUCH WORK IS COMING THROUGH, PARTICULARLY CRIME SCENE, WHICH THEN CREATES MORE REQUESTS FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. AGAIN, WE ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY HOMICIDE, IN FACT, AND VIOLENT CRIME. NOW ON THE GOOD NEWS SIDE OF STUFF, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE ALL I EVER HAVE IS GLOOM AND DOOM LATENT PRINCE, AFTER WE HAVE RUN THROUGH THE LIE SIX SIGMA PROJECT IN LATENT PRINTS THAT IS PAYING DIVIDENDS, UH, THEY HAVE MADE STEADY BUT SLOW PROGRESS AGAINST THE BACKLOG IN LATENT PRINTS. WE'RE NOW SITTING JUST A LITTLE BIT UNDER 1500 BACKLOG LATENT PRINT CASES, WHICH IS DOWN FROM 2200 A YEAR AGO. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE MAKING PROGRESS THERE. UH, OUR INTERNAL AUDITS, WE JUST FINISHED THOSE UP IN PREPARATION FOR, THIS IS A RE-ACCREDITATION YEAR FOR US. UH, ANSI NATIONAL ACCREDITATION, NATIONAL AC NATIONAL ACCREDITATION BOARD AAB WILL BE IN IN AUGUST FOR OUR RE-ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG DEAL FOR US THAT, THAT THAT CYCLE RUNS EVERY ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS. AND THAT IS BASICALLY THE RE-ACCREDITATION OF THE BOARD OR THE, OF THE, OF THE LABORATORY. SO THEY COME IN, THEY GO THROUGH EVERYTHING, AND WE DO OUR ANNUAL INTERNAL AUDIT. UM, BUT THAT IS IN PREPARATION THIS YEAR FOR THAT RE-ACCREDITATION VISIT. UM, I THINK A COUPLE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS IN THERE ON THE STAFFING SIDE, SEIZE DRUGS. WE HAVE HAD A FAIR BIT OF TURNOVER IN SEIZE DRUGS. THAT HAS BEEN A VERY STABLE, UH, SECTION FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS. WE'VE HAD SOME CHANGES IN THERE. WE'VE GOT SIX NEW TRAINEES IN SEIZE DRUGS, WHICH MEANS THERE'S A LOT OF TRAINING GOING ON. AND YEAH, WE, WE PUT MARIJUANA IN THERE WITH THE APPROPRIATE LEGAL SPELLING OF MARIJUANA IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. UH, BUT THAT BACKLOG'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. UM, WE RECEIVE MORE REQUESTS FOR MARIJUANA ANALYSIS THAN WE CAN ACCOMMODATE IN A YEAR OR IN A MONTH. UM, SO THAT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PROBLEM THERE. SO I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS. OKAY. ONE . SURE. YEAH. TWO, TWO QUESTIONS, PETER. ONE IS, UM, JUST REFRESH OUR MEMORY ABOUT HOW THOSE MARIJUANA CASES GET PRIORITIZED. , THAT IS AN ONGOING QUESTION ABOUT HOW TO PRIORITIZE MARIJUANA CASES. UM, SO KEEP IN MIND THIS, THIS IS ALL STEMMING FROM HOUSE BILL 1325, WHICH WAS SIGNED INTO LAW JUNE 10TH, 2019. AND WHEN THAT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW, IT BLEW UP PROSECUTION OF MARIJUANA IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. THAT WAS THE INDUSTRIAL HEMP, UH, PRODUCTION ACT. AND IT CHANGED THE DEFINITION OF MARIJUANA. SO YOU REMEMBER ALL OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD ABOUT THE FACT THAT NO LABORATORY IN THE STATE COULD PRODUCE THE QUANTITATIVE RESULTS THAT BECAME NECESSARY TO PROSECUTE MARIJUANA. WE WORKED WITH DPS AND WITH HARRIS COUNTY, IFS AND WITH SAM HOUSTON TO DEVISE A METHOD THAT FIT INSIDE OF OUR ACCREDITATION WITH EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A RESULT OVER OR UNDER 1% DELTA NINE TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL, SO THAT WE COULD AT LEAST PROVIDE A, A REASONABLE RESULT ON THOSE. WHAT HAS BECOME THE CIRCUMSTANCE IS WE GET MARIJUANA REQUESTS FOR LARGE QUANTITY POSSESSION CASES, KILOGRAMS [00:20:01] OF MARIJUANA. AND WE ALSO GET CASES THAT WE CALL PROBABLE CAUSE CASES. SO THOSE ARE TYPICALLY SMALL QUANTITY OF MARIJUANA, BUT THE MARIJUANA, THE PRESENCE OF THE MARIJUANA FORMS, THE PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A WARRANT THAT HAS SEIZED SOMETHING. AND IF MARIJUANA ISN'T THERE, THEN THE PROBABLE CAUSE GOES AWAY AND WHATEVER WAS SEIZED, TYPICALLY A GUN IS POISONED. SO THE GUN GOES BACK. SO MY, MY, MY QUIP ON THIS IS IF IT'S NOT MARIJUANA, THE TRAFFIC KID GOES BACK IN THE TRUNK AND THE SEMI-AUTOMATIC GOES BACK IN THE FRONT SEAT. BUT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT, IS THERE IS A SERIOUS DISCUSSION AMONG THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THE DA'S OFFICE OF WHAT COMES FIRST. WE CAN DO EITHER ONE OF THESE LARGE POSSESSION CASES, WHICH IS GOING TO CONSUME WHATEVER CAPACITY WE HAVE TO DO ANALYSIS. 'CAUSE YOU'RE TALKING MANY MULTIPLE KILOGRAMS. OUR ABILITY TO DO ABOUT 25 ANALYSIS A MONTH IS GONNA BE SATURATED BY THAT. OR WE CAN DO THESE PROBABLE CAUSE CASES, OF WHICH WE GET 25 TO 30 OF THOSE A MONTH. THE DIFFICULTY HAS BECOME EFFECTIVELY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, MARIJUANA HAS BECOME A GUN VIOLENCE CHALLENGE BECAUSE THIS IS ABOUT, NOBODY'S REALLY INTERESTED IN THE MARIJUANA. THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THE PROBABLE CAUSE THAT WAS THE BASIS TO SEIZE THE WEAPON. SO I AM, I AM NOT HONESTLY SURE. I THINK FROM THE STANDPOINT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, THEY ARE MUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SMALL QUANTITY MARIJUANA, NOT FOR THE MARIJUANA, BUT FOR THE GUN. AND LESS SO ABOUT WHAT HAS REALLY BECOME KIND OF AN ANACHRONISM OF DUDE WITH A BACKPACK FULL OF MARIJUANA. NOBODY REALLY CARES. OKAY. AND, AND THEN JUST ANOTHER MECHANICAL QUESTION AND THAT IS, UM, WHAT, THERE WERE 85 VEHICLES THAT WERE SEIZED. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP A VEHICLE AND WHAT HAPPENS TO 'EM AND HOW MANY YEAH. DO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR? YEAH. UM, WELL, APPARENTLY WE HAD THE CAPACITY FOR 85. UH, THAT WAS A STRETCH. VEHICLES ARE A CHALLENGE FOR US BECAUSE VEHICLES USUALLY COME IN WITH A WARRANT THAT HAS A CLOCK ON IT. WE HAVE TO PROCESS THAT VEHICLE INSIDE OF A PARTICULAR AMOUNT OF TIME. SO IT DRIVES US HAVING TO PRIORITIZE VEHICLES BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A WARRANT THAT MAY EXPIRE, OR WE ALSO HAVE CONSENT, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY THAT WAS A, A, UH, NOT INVOLVED DIRECTLY IN THE CRIME AND THEY'VE GIVEN CONSENT FOR US TO EXAMINE THEIR VEHICLE THAT ALSO HAS A CLOCK ON IT BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT THEIR CAR BACK. UM, BUT THAT DRIVES US HAVING TO MOVE VEHICLES THROUGH MUCH FASTER BECAUSE OF THOSE CLOCKS ON THOSE WARRANTS. UM, WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE PERSONNEL OVER AT THE VEB, WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN MARVELOUS. KRISTI YOUNG, WHO'S NOW OVER THERE, UH, BASICALLY MANAGING THE VEB HAS DONE A JUST FANTASTIC JOB OF ORGANIZING THINGS, KEEPING STUFF MOVING THROUGH THERE, KEEPING AFTER INVESTIGATORS ON WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THAT VEHICLE. WE'RE DONE WITH IT, OR WE'RE NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING. YOU NEED TO GET IT OUTTA HERE, KIND OF THING. WHICH HAS MADE AN IMMENSE DIFFERENCE IN OUR ABILITY TO PROCESS VEHICLES THROUGH THERE. UM, BUT IT IS THE, I MEAN, THERE, THERE ARE A HOST OF CHALLENGES OVER THERE, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS, IS VERY MUNDANE, MECHANICAL THINGS LIKE FORKLIFT OPERATORS TO BE ABLE TO MOVE VEHICLES AROUND. UM, AND CHALLENGES WITH THAT AND KEEPING, WE, WE, THE VEB SITS IN A NOOK OF HPDS, WHAT THEY CALL DART LOT, WHICH IS AN IMPOUND LOT THERE. AND WE MOVE VEHICLES BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN US ALL THE TIME. UM, TRYING TO KEEP THEIR FORKLIFTS WORKING SO THAT THEY CAN MOVE VEHICLES IS A CHALLENGE. UM, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT GO INTO THAT. HMM. OKAY. YEAH, IF YOU WANNA COME OUT AND SEE THE VEB SOMEDAY, THERE'S ALWAYS PLENTY OF SHOT UP VEHICLES OVER THERE. I WILL TAKE YOU UP ON THAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS SO FAR? ALRIGHT, SO PRIORITIZATION. UM, THIS REALLY STEMS OUT OF OUR BUDGET FOR THIS NEXT YEAR BECAUSE WE ARE CRAMPED ON HOW WE DO STUFF. I WILL SAY PRIORITIZATION IS A PERENNIAL ISSUE. IT'S A PER, IT'S BEEN A PERENNIAL ISSUE FOR US FOR YEARS. IT IS AN ISSUE IN ALL LABORATORIES, BUT IT'S GONNA BE AN ACUTE ISSUE THIS COMING YEAR. HOW IN THE WORLD DO WE WORK WITH THE REST OF THE SYSTEM AND HOW WE [00:25:01] UTILIZE OUR LIMITED RESOURCES AND THAT WE USE OUR LIMITED RESOURCES IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. UM, WITH THE BUDGET THAT WE NOW HAVE FOR FY 23 FORENSIC PERSONNEL, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE. WE DON'T HAVE THE COST ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE WERE HOPING TO, TO BE ABLE TO RETAIN PEOPLE THE WAY WE WERE HOPING TO. SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE TURNOVER, WHICH MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE TRAINING, WHICH MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE LESS CAPACITY. UM, THAT IS PRETTY MUCH ACROSS ALL OF THE SECTIONS. IT'S JUST A REALITY THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTEND WITH THIS NEXT YEAR. I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT. EVERYTHING IN THE LAB, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE VERY DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, WHAT HAPPENS IN ONE SECTION IS DOLLARS THAT I DON'T HAVE THEN FOR ANOTHER SECTION. SO IF WE END UP WITH MORE PRIORITIES IN MULTIMEDIA, THAT HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR RESOURCES WE HAVE IN TOXICOLOGY AND VICE VERSA. I KNOW IT CAN BE DIFFICULT, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING FROM THE OUTSIDE AT CONCEPTUALIZING. WHAT DOES TOXICOLOGY HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING ELSE? BUT IT REALLY IS A ZERO SUM GAME FOR US. WHAT WE SPEND ONE PLACE MEANS SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER PLACE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME PLANS IN THERE TO TRY AND MANAGE BACKLOGS IN CAPACITY, BUT THAT IS NOW CHANGED WITH THE BUDGET. AND SO THIS IS A SERIOUS CONVERSATION I, I GET, AND I THINK UPFRONT NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REPEATEDLY ACKNOWLEDGE THIS ISN'T LIKE THERE IS AN EASY SOLUTION FOR ALL OF THE OTHER PARTNERS IN THE SYSTEM. IF THEY JUST QUIT DOING X, THIS WOULD ALL GO AWAY. THEY ARE ALSO UNDER-RESOURCED, OVERTAXED, STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH AN ABSOLUTELY CATACLYSMIC BACKLOG IN THE COURT SYSTEM. THE FACT THAT GREAT HOMICIDE RATE INCREASE HAS SLOWED, BUT WE STILL ARE DEALING WITH A VERY MUCH LARGER HOMICIDE RATE NOW THAN WE WERE TWO YEARS AGO. ALL OF THAT HAS IMPACTS FOR HPD, IT HAS IMPACTS FOR THE COURTS, IT HAS IMPACTS FOR THE DA'S OFFICE. SO PLEASE, AT NO POINT IN HERE HEAR THIS AS BLANKET CRITICISM OF ALL OF THEM. RATHER, WE ALL HAVE TO BE SMARTER ABOUT HOW WE DO THIS STUFF. ALRIGHT, SO WE GOT LIMITED TIME AND STAFF, WE KNOW THIS. UM, HOW DO WE START USING THIS? HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT NOT ONLY ARE REQUESTS INCREASING, BUT THE COMPLEXITY WITHIN THOSE REQUESTS IS INCREASING. SO IT TAKES MORE TIME ON, MORE, MORE REQUESTS TO DO WHAT WE'RE BEING ASKED TO DO. WE'VE GOT STAFF WORKING LONG HOURS. UM, YOU KNOW, $300,000 IN OVERTIME IS A LOT. THAT'S A LOT OF HOURS ON PEOPLE. THAT WEARS ON PEOPLE. I AM ALWAYS CONCERNED ON THE IMPACTS. AND I, I TELL PEOPLE, I, ANYBODY THAT GETS STUCK IN A ROOM WITH ME, IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE YOU HEAR ME SAY THIS WORK LEAVES MARKS ON PEOPLE. IT'S NOT LIKE ANYTHING IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE IS HARD ON PEOPLE. DA'S BURNOUT, POLICE BURNOUT. YOU ARE DEALING WITH NIGHTMARISH STUFF OF SOCIETY ALL THE TIME. UM, OUR FOLKS JUST DON'T GET A BREAK. CSIS ARE COMING IN BASICALLY, I WAS TALKING WITH ONE OF THE YOUNGER CSIS, HE'S ALL OF ABOUT 27 YEARS OLD. HE'S BEEN WITH US FOUR YEARS. HE HAS PROCESSED HUNDREDS OF HOMICIDE SCENES. THIS IS A 27-YEAR-OLD KID WHO HAS SEEN MORE DEAD BODIES THAN ANYBODY EVER SHOULD. THAT'S THE WORK THAT OUR PEOPLE DO. THEY DON'T GET A BREAK THAT WEARS ON PEOPLE AND IT WEARS THEM OUT. UM, I CAN'T STRESS IT ENOUGH, AND YOU'VE HEARD ME WITH THIS PROBABLY TOO MANY TIMES, BUT BACKLOGS IN LABORATORIES MEAN WE HAVE TO MAKE AWFUL CHOICES, WHICH COMES FIRST TRIPLE RAPE OVER DOUBLE HOMICIDE. YOU TELL ME. BUT THAT'S THE CHOICES THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE. UM, AND WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE STUFF THAT'S IN THE LABORATORY, BUT THERE'S ALL THIS STUFF AROUND THE LABORATORY THAT ALSO IMPACTS THESE BACKLOGS AND THE STRAINS. SO ALL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE WORK THAT GOES AROUND IT, THE REPORTING, THE PAPERWORK, THE DISCOVERY ORDERS THAT HAS JUST AS MUCH DRAW ON RESOURCES AS THE DIRECT STUFF IN THE LABORATORY. UH, CAN YOU GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES? OH, JUST SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A REMINDER. 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT IT ON SOME OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, UH, IN SOME OF YOUR PREVIOUS REPORTS AND PREVIOUS BOARD MEETINGS, [00:30:01] BUT JUST KIND OF BRING IT ALL TOGETHER A BIT. YEP. SO I MEAN, WE'VE GOT STACKS OF ANECDOTES OF PLACES WHERE YOU END UP WITH COMPLEXITIES. JUST LAST WEEK, UM, AKILA AND I WERE AT YET ANOTHER SHOW CAUSE HEARING ON, UH, MISDEMEANOR DUI. AND IT'S NOT THAT A MISDEMEANOR DUI IS, YOU KNOW, A TRIVIAL CHARGE, BUT THE DEMAND TO EXPEDITE A MISDEMEANOR DUI MEANS WE'RE TAKING THAT ONE OUT OF ORDER. AND IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT, YOU ARE JUMPING THAT ONE OVER OTHER CASE PRIORITIES. SO WE'VE GOT OTHER ADAS THAT HAVE SAID, I NEED TO PRIORITIZE THIS CASE. WELL, WHICH ONE DO WE REALLY PRIORITIZE? 'CAUSE IF I PRIORITIZE THAT ONE, THAT MEANS OTHER PRIORITIES. PRIORITIES HAVE TO SIT. I KNOW I PUT IN, UH, ONE OF MY WEEKLY UPDATES, UH, WE HAD A TOXICOLOGY ANALYST WHO SAT IN COURT FOR FIVE DAYS TO FINALLY TESTIFY FOR A COUPLE HOURS. AT THE END OF THAT, WELL, AS LONG AS SHE'S SITTING IN COURT, SHE'S NOT WORKING THE CASES THAT ARE IN HER QUEUE, WHICH INCLUDED OTHER CASE PRIORITIES. UM, WE HAVE CONSTANTLY THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE WE ARE PRODUCING DISCOVERY DOCUMENTATION FOR IT TO NEVER END UP GOING TO COURT BECAUSE THE CASE GETS DISMISSED. WELL, THAT HAPPENS, BUT THAT IS HOURS OF RESOURCES IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE END OF THINGS. AND FOR OUR ANALYSTS REVIEWING THAT PAPERWORK THAT ISN'T AVAILABLE THEN TO DO THE STUFF IN THE LABORATORY, THIS IS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE FOR US. SO EVEN HERE ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE SIDE OF THINGS, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THINGS THAT OUR CLIENT SERVICES GROUP DO, LIKE WE GO COLLECT EVIDENCE FROM THE MORGUE, AND THIS IS A LEGACY THING THAT CRIME SCENE USED TO DO, UM, WHEN THEY WERE ALL HPD OFFICERS, UH, THEY WOULD, IT, IT JUST HAS KIND OF BEEN TIME IMMEMORIAL THAT THAT WAS THERE. SO THEY DRIVE DOWN TO THE MORGUE, COLLECT THE EVIDENCE THERE, BRING IT BACK. WELL, BECAUSE THEY WERE HPD OFFICERS, IT WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR THEM TO DO THE, THE ENTRIES IN THE RMS SYSTEM, WHICH IS AN HPD SYSTEM. BASICALLY THAT'S, THAT'S THEIR SYSTEM TO TRACK CASES AND ENTER STUFF IN THERE FOR THAT CASE. FAST FORWARD, ALL OF THE OFFICERS HAVE GONE BACK. WE TRANSITIONED THIS OVER TO CLIENT SERVICES BECAUSE WE NEED OUR CSIS TO BE OUT THERE ON SCENES, NOT TRUCKING BACK AND FORTH TO THE MORGUE. BUT THIS STILL MEANS WE'VE GOT AT LEAST 30 HOURS A MONTH THAT SOMEBODY TAKES TO GO DRIVE DOWN THERE, GET THE EVIDENCE, BRING IT BACK, TAG THIS ALL INTO THE PROPERTY ROOM, AND DO ALL OF THE ENTRIES INTO HPD SYSTEM TO ESTABLISH THAT EVIDENCE IN AN HPD CASE. A LOT OF THAT EVIDENCE WILL NEVER COME TO US AS EVIDENCE TO BE PROCESSED. SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DO THIS. WHO BEST DOES THIS? I, THAT IS A SUBJECT FOR CONVERSATION. I BROUGHT THIS UP WITH HPD ABOUT IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD TRANSITION THIS BACK TO HPD FOR THEM TO BRING IT BACK AND TAG STUFF IN BECAUSE THEIR OFFICERS ARE IN A BETTER POSITION TO DO THE ENTRIES INTO THE DATABASE. BUT IT'S NOT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE, SOMEBODY, IT'S STILL GOING TO TAKE THEM MANY HOURS A MONTH TO DO THIS. WHERE DOES THAT LABOR COME FROM? THESE ARE COMPONENTS OF THINGS THAT I KNOW DON'T GET THOUGHT ABOUT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BACKLOGS AND WHERE THE LABOR COMES FROM FOR PROCESSING FORENSIC EVIDENCE. SO, OH, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. YEAH, NO, NO, NO. JUST GOING BACK TO PRIORITIES MM-HMM . PRIORITIES. SO WHEN YOU WENT DOWN THERE FOR THE MISDEMEANOR, JUST BECAUSE AN A DA SAID, HEY, MY CASE IS GOING TO TRIAL. I NEED YOU TO COME DOWN. UH, HOW DOES, I KNOW YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PRIORITIES, BUT HOW DOES THE DA SET PRIORITIES AND WHAT AUTHORITY DOES AN A DA HAVE? IN OTHER WORDS, DOES THIS HAVE TO GO UP THROUGH THE CHAIN AND THE SOMEBODY IN LEADERSHIP IN THE DA'S OFFICE FILTERS OUT WHAT'S A PRIORITY? OR IS IT JUST AS SIMPLE AS AN A DA CALLING OVER SAYING, HEY, I'M SET FOR TRIAL. I NEED YOU TO COME OVER RIGHT AWAY. WHICH MAY BE A MISDEMEANOR CASE, WHICH IS, AS YOU SAID YEP. IT'S A MISDEMEANOR CASE. YEP. UH, SO EVEN JUST THIS LAST WEEK, QUILA AND I WERE DOWN THERE FOR A SHOW CAUSE HEARING. SO THE JUDGE HAS DEMANDED AN EXPLANATION OF WHY THIS CASE IS TAKING SO LONG. UM, AT THAT HEARING, THE JUDGE ASKED OF THE A DA, WHAT IS THE OFFICER'S POLICY ON PRIORITIZATION? AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE ADA'S DEFENSE DOESN'T HAVE AN ANSWER BECAUSE THERE REALLY ISN'T A POLICY. THIS IS PART OF OUR DIFFICULTY IS WE CAN'T [00:35:01] SEE WHICH CASE ON A SYSTEMATIC BASIS IS REALLY THE IMPORTANT PLACE. WHAT WE'VE GOT ARE DEMANDS FROM THE COURT. THE ADAS ARE RESPONDING TO DEMANDS BY JUDGES. AND THIS IS, THIS IS PART OF WHAT'S GOTTA GET SORTED OUT IS GUYS HELP US OUT. I I RIGHT NOW WE PRIORITIZE BASICALLY BY WHO SCREAMS LOUDEST IS, IS THERE LIKE A GOLD STANDARD THAT'S USED? OBVIOUSLY HOUSTON IS A BIG, UH, METROPOLITAN AREA, BUT SO IS CHICAGO AND NEW YORK AND LA AND OTHER BIG CITIES THAT HAVE, SHOULD HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE. AND HOW DO THEY DEAL WITH IT? SAME FUNDAMENTALLY, EVERYBODY STRUGGLES WITH THIS. I MEAN, I, THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS A CLASSIC REFRAIN FOR AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN IN CRIME LABS THAT I HAVE HURT. I MEAN THESE ARE, THESE ARE CLICHES FOR FORENSIC ANALYSTS OF WHICH COMES FIRST AND SCREAMING ABOUT IT AND INABILITY TO CHOOSE. AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE WORKING CASES THAT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND YET WE'RE STILL WORKING THEM. IT IS A PROBLEM EVERYWHERE. THE PLACES I HAVE SEEN IT WORK BEST ARE WHERE THERE IS ROUTINE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN LABORATORY PROSECUTION AND LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT ROUTINELY IS ABLE TO UPDATE THINGS LIKE, OH, THAT CASE GOT DISMISSED. YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT OF THE QUEUE. HOW WE ESTABLISH THAT HERE IS PART OF WHAT WE'VE GOTTA WORK THROUGH. 'CAUSE IT IS A BIG COMPLEX SYSTEM. UM, AND I THINK ULTIMATELY OUT OF, YOU KNOW, TODAY'S DISCUSSION, I'M NOT LOOKING FOR ANY DECISIONS ON THINGS. I'M LOOKING FOR MAKING SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT'S IN THIS. AND TO SAY PROBABLY SOMEWHERE IN HERE, LIKE THAT WHOLE J AND S THING, I CAN SEE IT SOMEWHERE OUT THERE. WE MAY HAVE TO GET MORE HEAVY HANDED ABOUT WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF MANAGING OUR WORKFLOW AND Y'ALL ARE GONNA NEED TO HAVE OUR BACK. WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS HOW CAN YOU HAVE AN ANALYST SITTING THERE FOR FIVE DAYS? I MEAN, CAN'T THEY SCHEDULE AROUND THE ANALYST, PUT PUT 'EM ON CALL, GET AN UBER, GET THERE, YOU KNOW, TESTIFY WHEN YOU NEED TO BE THERE, TEXT . I MEAN, IT IS JUST, YOU WOULD HOPE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. YOU WOULD HOPE. BUT BASICALLY YOU'VE GOT A JUDGE THAT'S DEMANDING OF THE STATE THAT THEY BE PREPARED AT ANY POINT. AND AN A DA THAT IS IN A POSITION THAT THEY REALLY CAN'T, ARE UNABLE TO ARGUE WITH THAT JUDGE TO SAY, NO, WE CAN GET 'EM HERE IN 30 MINUTES AND TAKE A SHORT RECESS AND THEY CAN BE HERE. IT IS A COMBINATION OF INEXPERIENCE ON THE PART OF THE ADAS DEMANDS FROM THE JUDGES. THERE'S, THERE'S MULTIPLE PARTS TO THAT. BUT BASICALLY IN THAT CASE, THERE WAS A DEMAND THAT OUR ANALYSTS BE THERE STARTING AT DOCKETING AND SIT THERE. I I, I KNOW YOU'VE PROBABLY THOUGHT OF THIS ALREADY AND, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN'T MAKE THE DA UH, DO SOMETHING, UM, UH, WITHOUT THE DA BUY-IN. BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT HARRIS COUNTY HAS JUST GIVEN A PAY BUMP, OR NOT A PAY BUMP, BUT A PAY INCREASE TO THE DA'S OFFICE. AND SO PERHAPS THAT THERE SHOULD BE A DEDICATED DIVISION OR, OR SECTION OR PERSON IN THE DA'S OFFICE THAT IS IN CHARGE OF PRIORITIZATION AND TO INTERFACE WITH US IN TERMS OF, UH, KEEPING UP WHERE WHEN CASES GET DISMISSED, LIKE IT, IT'S PROBABLY A CODING QUESTION. BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD, UM, FIGURE OUT, UH, CASES THAT GET DISMISSED, PUT IT ON THE LOG. IN OTHER WORDS, ALSO BE THE POINT PERSON. SO WHEN THAT AADA IS ASKED ABOUT WHAT'S THE POLICY HERE, THEY CAN SAY, WE HAVE AN OFFICE THAT PRIORITIZES AND THIS IS THE PRIORITY. SOMEBODY FOCUSED ON WORKING ON IT, INSTEAD OF JUST KIND OF GOING THROUGH THE MECHANICS DAY TO DAY, UH, AND DEALING WITH THE CASES. 'CAUSE I KNOW HOW CRAZY IT IS. MM-HMM . UH, DOWN THERE. AND, UM, FOR GOD'S SAKE, I MEAN, CAN'T THE DA'S OFFICE DEDICATE A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO INTERFACE WITH OUR FOLKS TO COME UP WITH THE SYSTEM SO THERE IS SOMEBODY WHO'S HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND THAT EVERY, ALL THE DAS CAN GO TO TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS A PRIORITY. THIS ISN'T, ET CETERA, BUT A, A FILTER IF YOU WOULD, TO INTERFACE WITH US. IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. UM, AND TO HAVE THAT CONCEPT REFINED. AND LET ME ADD TO THAT. HAVE YOU TRIED ME HAVING A MEETING WITH THE JUDGES AND SAY, LOOK, GIVE US A LITTLE LEEWAY HERE. YEAH, WE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON TRYING TO GET IN WITH THE, THE JUDGES. I THINK WE, WE'VE GOT A NEW PRES, NEW PRESIDING JUDGE. UM, I, I GUESS IN IN LINE WITH WHAT YOU'RE BOTH SAYING, AND MY POINT WAS GONNA BE, [00:40:01] HAVE WE EVER SAT DOWN WITH THE JUDICIARY, THE DAS, US, ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED TO, TO LITERALLY COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF SOLUTION? AND IF WE DID, IF IT WAS A PYRAMID, WHO'S AT THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID WHO CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN? PROBABLY THE ONE THAT IS IN THE BEST POSITION ACROSS EVERYTHING IS THE DA'S OFFICE. UM, IS THE DA'S, IS THE DA'S OFFICE BECAUSE, SO IF KIM WANTS TO, IF KIM WANTS TO CALL PEOPLE TOGETHER, THE PEOPLE WILL COME. I'D LIKE TO THINK SO. NOW, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY REACH ACROSS TO THE JUDGES BECAUSE I MEAN, THE JUDGES ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE SOVEREIGN ELECTED OFFICIALS. UM, WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IN THEIR COURTROOM IS WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IN THEIR COURTROOM. UM, THAT IS, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THERE'S A POSITION, A CHIEF JUDGE OR, OR WHAT'S THE TITLE, BUT, BUT THE JUDGES IN, IN THIS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BUY IN, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST RUNNING THEIR OWN COURTROOM. RIGHT. IT'S, IT'S THE PROCESS OF HOW WE INTERSECT WITH THE DA'S OFFICE AND HOW THE DA'S PRIOR, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT A PRIORITY AND, AND UH, UH, AND TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF, UM, UH, WORKING GROUP WITH THEM. AND THEN IT SHOULD RUN MORE SMOOTHLY FOR THE COURTS. YOU KNOW, YOU GET THOSE JUDGES, THEY COME AND THEY GO. AND I, I I I, I JUST THINK THAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE DA'S OFFICE AND WITH, UM, AND THEN WITH OUR OFFICE, I DON'T MEAN IT'S A PROBLEM, BUT IT'S, IT'S A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS FIXING BETWEEN THE TWO. AND TO HAVE A DIALOGUE AND TO HAVE SOMEBODY ACCOUNTABLE IN THE DA'S OFFICE, NO, WE CAN'T FORCE IT, BUT WE CAN'T HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH THEM BECAUSE IT ONLY MAKES SENSE. AND MAYBE, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN PUT ON THE AGENDA TO JUST START TO HAVE THAT DIALOGUE AND FIND OUT IF, IF KIM IS WILLING TO BUY INTO THIS AND UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. UM, BECAUSE IT IS A MASSIVE PROBLEM FOR US. AND IT'S A MASSIVE PROBLEM FOR THE WHOLE SYSTEM. IT'S STORM FOR THE WHOLE SYSTEM. I MEAN, THIS IS, I THINK AN IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP COMING BACK TO IS IT'S, IT'S VERY EASY AND YOU CAN, YOU CAN SEE IT WHEN THERE'S THIS KIND OF STRAIN ON ANY SYSTEM. IT'S REALLY EASY FOR EVERYBODY TO START POINTING FINGERS AT EACH OTHER AND EVERYBODY'S STRUGGLING WITH THIS. I MEAN, THIS, THIS IS A RESULT THAT NOBODY WANTS. I, I CAN HANDS DOWN SAY THAT. I MEAN, NOBODY WANTS IT TO WORK THIS WAY. UM, I THINK EVERYBODY IS INTERESTED IN TRYING TO FIND A WAY. IT IS. WHERE, WHERE DO WE EVEN START ON THAT CONVERSATION? I MEAN, THE, THE SUGGESTION OF SOME KIND OF MECHANISM WITHIN THE DA'S OFFICE TO HELP PAUL FORTENBERRY WAS AT THE COMPANY MEETING JUST WEDNESDAY AND GIVING SOME OF THE NUMBERS OF WHAT THEIR ADAS ARE DEALING WITH. THEY ARE 46,000 FELONY CASES BACKLOGGED THAT ARE SPREAD BETWEEN 69 ADAS. THE ADA THREES WHO ARE KIND OF THE BACKBONE OF MOST OF THE WORK ARE ROUTINELY FACED WITH A THOUSAND CASES SITTING ON THEIR DESKS. HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU MANAGE THAT? YOU GOTTA START SOMEHOW. RIGHT? RIGHT, RIGHT. AND AGAIN, IT MIGHT BE LIKE A CODING ISSUE. I MEAN, PEOPLE HAVE, BUT PEOPLE HAVE TO IDENTIFY, OKAY, YOU'VE IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM. THEN WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, HOW DO YOU SOLVE IT? YEAH. AND OBVIOUSLY THE DA AND OUR OFFICE ARE THE, THE, UH, FORENSICS, UH, FOLKS ARE GONNA HAVE TO SIT DOWN AND TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT ON WHAT OTHER DISCIPLINES BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT WORKABLE. YEP. AND I KNOW HOW CRAZY IT IS DOWN THERE. IT'S JUST AS IT'S NUTS. AND UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMEBODY TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, IT'S ONLY GONNA GET WORSE. PETER, EVER CALL YOU AND AQUILA DRAFTING A LETTER MAYBE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO? WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THAT SILENCE? WHO, WHO WAS IT SENT TO? WAS IT SENT TO KIM? IT WAS TO THE PRESIDING JUDGES AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGES. OKAY. THAT IS WHAT I SENT, I DID Y'ALL HAVE A COPY OF THAT? THAT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO ACTUALLY. WE SENT THAT. UM, I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY? I, I, THE LETTER WAS ADDRESSED TO THE PRESIDING JUDGES AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGES. AND THE, THE, THE MAIN CONCERNS THERE WERE THINGS LIKE, PLEASE WORK WITH US FOR ANY PLACE THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR PEOPLE USE REMOTE TESTIMONY BECAUSE OF THE EFFICIENCY, BUT ALSO ALLOWING OUR PERSONNEL TO BE ON CALL RATHER THAN DEMANDED TO BE THERE AND REALIZE WE HAVE A SERIOUS PRIORITIZATION ISSUE WITH RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE. AND NO, I WELL, CAN WE REDIRECT THAT, MODIFY THAT LETTER AND YEP. ADDRESS IT TO KIM AND, UM, OH, KIM AND DAVE MITCHAM, WHO'S THE FIRST? YEAH. DID DAVE MITCH WAS THE FIRST ASSISTANT. YEAH, KIM. KIM WAS COPIED ON IT. UH, CITY WAS COPIED ON IT. THERE WERE SOME COMMISSIONERS COPIED ON IT. I MEAN, WE, WE, IT'S NOT LIKE WE TRIED [00:45:01] TO SNEAK, WE, WE, WE HAVE BEEN ASKING AFTER THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE, AND I AM FINDING, AND THIS IS PART OF WHAT I'M AFTER TODAY, IS PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING THE TEMPERATURE AROUND THIS, AS CHARLES USED TO SAY, BECAUSE THIS IS KILLING US, AND IF WE CAN'T PROVIDE THE RESULTS, THE SYSTEM STOPS. AND THAT'S NOT WHAT ANYBODY WANTS. WELL, I, I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE ANOTHER AND RUN, BUT NOT, UH, NOT TO THE JUDGES, BUT TO KIM'S OFFICE AND MAYBE GET THE BUY-IN FOR HARRIS COUNTY BECAUSE THEY FUND MM-HMM . THE DA'S OFFICE. YES. TO, UM, UH, HAVE THEM RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM. I KNOW THEY HAVE THEIR OWN CRIME LAB, BUT I'M QUITE SURE THAT OH, I'M SURE THEY'RE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS THAT WE ARE. IFS HAS THE SAME PROBLEMS. RIGHT. AND SO MAYBE BOTH CRIME LABS TOGETHER APPROACH THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASK THEM TO, IF, IF YOU WILL, YOU HAVE FORCE THE DA'S OFFICE TO RECOGNIZE THIS AS A PROBLEM AND TO HAVE THEM, UH, DIALOGUE WITH US, BUT ALSO SEND THE LETTER, NOT TO SLIGHT THE DA'S OFFICE TO THEM DIRECTLY, AND, UM, TRY TO GET A WORKING GROUP TOGETHER AND ADDRESS AND MOVE FORWARD. UH, BUT I DO THINK HARRIS COUNTY, IF WE COMBINE WITH THE OTHER LAB TOO, TO GET SOME FUNCTIONING, UM, PROCEDURE, UM, IN HARRIS COUNTY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WOULDN'T BE VERY INTERESTED IN NOT MANDATING IT, BUT MAKING SURE THAT THE DA'S OFFICE, IF THEY'RE GONNA FUND, UH, THE MONEY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO FOR THE OPERATION OF THAT OFFICE, THEN THIS OUGHT TO BE SOMETHING THAT, UH, THEY RECOGNIZE BECAUSE IT IS A BIG PROBLEM. AND UNLESS YOU BRING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION, PEOPLE ARE THINKING, AH, IT'S JUST GETTING DONE , BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT. YEAH. AND THE WAY CRIME IS GOING IN THIS CITY THEN, AND THE RESOURCES AREN'T GETTING ANY MORE, THEN SOMETHING HAS TO BE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT HERE. WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED TO SEND A LETTER OR CONTACT EVERY SINGLE JUDGE AND SAY, LOOK, WE WANT A MEETING. LET'S SEE WHO SHOWS UP. THAT'S, THAT'S KINDA WHAT I KEEP EDGING AT. I MEAN, YOU, YOU SEE MY WEEKLY RANTS ARE COPIED TO THE DA'S OFFICE TO HPD. UM, I'VE ALSO STARTED SENDING MY WEEKLY RANTS ONTO A NUMBER OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND, UM, COMMISSIONER GARCIA HAS BEEN, I'VE, I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT THIS ON THE, ON THE COUNTY SIDE, UH, SOMEWHERE IN THERE AT AT LEAST, AT LEAST WE NEED HPD, THE DA'S OFFICE AND US IN A ROOM, BECAUSE LIKE RIGHT NOW, I'VE SAID THIS IN A VARIETY OF VENUES. SAY IT AGAIN HERE. FIREARMS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE. CLEARLY EVERYBODY IS CONCERNED ABOUT HOW IN THE WORLD DO WE NAVIGATE GUNS AND GUN VIOLENCE RIGHT NOW? BUT RIGHT NOW ALL FIREARMS IS WORKING, ARE COURT PRIORITIES. WE ARE NOT WORKING ANY INVESTIGATIVE END OF THINGS FOR HPD REQUESTS BECAUSE THE COURT PRIORITIES, I MEAN, THERE'S A CLOCK ON THAT. THERE IS A DEMAND FROM THE COURT, PETER, I LOOK THOSE IN THE SYSTEM UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A PROBLEM. BUT THOSE THAT MAY ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FORCING THE SYSTEM MAY NOT RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS, UH, THIS MECHANICAL PROBLEM. AND SO WOULD IT , I HATE TO DO THIS, BUT WHAT IF YOU WERE TURN SOME OF YOUR RANTS INTO A EDITORIAL THAT CAN BE YEP. I HAPPY TO HOUSTON CHRONICLE. HAPPY TO, AND IT WILL JUST EDUCATE PEOPLE. IT WILL ALSO SENSITIZE PEOPLE AS TO WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE AND THOSE PEOPLE THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMING TO THE TABLE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, KIM OG OR WHETHER IT'S THE, UH, JUDGES OR, OR WHETHER IT'S THE OTHER LABS, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, EVERYBODY WILL SEE THAT AND RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S A PROBLEM, BUT SO WILL ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. YEP. AND IT MIGHT JUST PUT THE HEAT ON THE, OR, OR A SPOTLIGHT, I SHOULD SAY, ON THE ISSUE. UM, AND I THINK YOUR TIME WOULD BE WELL PUT RATHER THAN A RANT TO, TO COME UP WITH A WELL THOUGHT PIECE FOR THE, UH, HOUSTON CHRONICLE. I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT. THAT SOUNDS, SEEMS LIKE I, I END UP DOING AN EDITORIAL IN THE CHRONICLE BOUT EVERY YEAR TO EVERY OTHER YEAR ON SOMETHING LIKE THIS. SO IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT TIME. YEAH. WELL, I THINK PHILIP, I THINK YOUR POINT IS WELL TAKEN, BUT I THINK IF, IF WE GO THAT ROUTE, WE HAVE TO HAVE A COORDINATED MEDIA CAMPAIGN. A ONE SHOT EDITORIAL IN THE CHRONICLE IS, IT'S FINE. PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET EXCITED ABOUT IT AND 24 HOURS LATER NOBODY'S GONNA CARE AND NOBODY'S GONNA DO ANYTHING. YEP. AGREE. I THINK WHAT YOU SAID, AND WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SAY AS WELL IS THAT IT SEEMS TO ME THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD ON THIS IS TO GET THE PLAYERS TO THE TABLE. AND WHETHER THAT'S H YOU JUST SAID H-P-D-D-A, UM, HARRIS COUNTY LAB COMMISSIONERS. YEAH. [00:50:01] I MEAN, AND I THINK, I THINK THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY OF BEING ABLE TO DO THAT. I MEAN, I, I DON'T THINK A ROOM FULL OF JUDGES IS GONNA MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. NO, BUT YOU KNOW, WHOEVER'S, WHOEVER SETS THE AGENDA FOR THE DOCKETS, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE SOME INFLUENCE ON, ON THAT. BUT IT, THAT TO ME SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY WAY TO GO. AND IF YOU THINK THE MEDIA'S THE WAY TO GO, WHICH IT MAY BE, BUT IT HAS TO BE, UH, THOUGHT OUT MM-HMM . MEDIA CAMPAIGN. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT REQUIRES TIME. YEP. I THINK THAT I I SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE, UH, I AM HOPING AS WE CONTINUE TO TRY AND RAISE THE TEMPERATURE ON THIS PUBLIC CONVERSATION HERE, I, I GET FOR ALL OF EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE SYSTEM, THEY'RE ALL OVERWHELMED. EVERYBODY IS TRYING TO FIND THAT TIME TO SIT DOWN AND THINK ABOUT THINGS RATIONALLY ENOUGH TO FIND A SOLUTION IS DIFFICULT. BUT THIS IS, THIS IS, THIS IS BREAKING, THIS ISN'T ABOUT TO BREAK. IT IS BREAKING. UM, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND MEANING YOU HAVE TWO, TO ME, AT LEAST TWO ISSUES. ONE IS MONEY. MM-HMM . AND THE OTHER IS TIME. SO YOU'VE GOT SOMEONE FROM YOUR OFFICE SITTING IN A COURT FOR FIVE DAYS, AND THE OTHER IS YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO HIRE MORE PEOPLE. SO I THINK WE HAVE, YOU HAVE TO GUIDE US IN HOW, WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND HOW WE CAN DIRECT OUR EFFORTS THERE. I MEAN, THERE ARE PEOPLE AROUND THIS HORSESHOE THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME IMPACT, SOME INFLUENCE MM-HMM . THAT CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. BUT WE DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHICH OF THOSE TWO THINGS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. YES. BOTH ARE. UM, YEAH, , . I GUESS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK IS BETWEEN NOW AND OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING, IF WE CAN ATTEMPT TO GET, I MEAN, I, I, I THINK ALL, ALL SIGNS IN THE CONVERSATIONS I HAVE, 'CAUSE I REGULARLY TALK WITH, WITH THE EXECUTIVE H OF HPD, I MEAN, I, I, THEY, THEY, THEY GET IT. THEY'RE, THEY'RE THERE. WE, WE ARE ALREADY DISCUSSING THINGS OF HOW WE MODIFY CASE ACCEPTANCE POLICIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THEY UNDERSTAND. UM, AND I HAVE, IT IS NOT THE SAME CONVERSATION WITH HPD ABOUT HOW WE REDUCE, AS I SAY, NONSENSICAL REQUESTS. WELL THEY, IT'S A LITTLE HYPERBOLIC. IT IS REQUESTS FROM INVESTIGATORS THAT WE NEED TO EDUCATE, THAT WE NEED THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF WHAT THEY'RE REQUESTING AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE REFINING THAT REQUESTS ARE AS IMPACTFUL AS WE CAN MAKE 'EM AND NOT HAVE STUFF THAT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. WE CAN WORK ON THAT. I NEED SOME HELP GETTING THE DA'S OFFICE TO THE TABLE IN A PRODUCTIVE FASHION. UM, AND IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING BETWEEN HERE AND OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING TO AT LEAST START THAT CONVERSATION, THEN WE CAN LOOK AT OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING OF MAYBE THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE NEED THE BOARD TO PUT WEIGHT OF AN APPROVAL OR A VOTE BEHIND. I'M NOT SURE YET, BUT I THINK IF Y'ALL CAN HELP ME GET THE DA'S OFFICE TO THE TABLE TO TALK WITH HPD 'CAUSE IT'S ALL TIED TOGETHER. WHAT WE END UP PRIORITIZING FOR THE DA'S MEANS STUFF WE CAN'T PRIORITIZE FOR HPD AND VICE VERSA. THEY, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN EVERYBODY OF WHAT, WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES? I'LL HELP YOU WITH THE DA'S OFFICE. MM-HMM . OKAY. OKAY. I MEAN THAT'S, I I THAT AGREED. I MEAN, YOUR WEEKLY UPDATES ARE WONDERFUL AND VERY INFORMATION SHARING, BUT IT HASN'T MOVED THE NEEDLE. RIGHT. THEY HAVEN'T MOVED THE NEEDLE. SO I THINK YES, THIS ACTIVE BEING MORE PROACTIVE OF HAVING THIS MEETING, I BELIEVE WE NEED TO ALSO INCLUDE, UM, IFIS AS WELL BECAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, HAVING MAYBE A CO LET'S LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING AND CAN WE PRESENT AND TALK ABOUT THIS TOGETHER AS A UNITED FRONT. YEP. BECAUSE OUR ISSUES ARE, THEY'RE PROBABLY, THEY'RE HAVING THE SAME THING. NO, I I SAME ISSUES THAT WE ARE GUARANTEE THEY'RE HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. SO, I MEAN DPSI, I REALLY FEEL FOR DPS 'CAUSE THEY BASICALLY HAVE THIS ISSUE ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE. I MEAN, ALL LABS STRUGGLE WITH THIS, THEN MAYBE DPS NEEDS TO BE THERE AS WELL. BECAUSE IF YOU'VE GOT A UNITED FRONT WITH CRIME LABS OF SAYING, WE'VE GOT THIS ISSUE, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN PRIORITIZE AND HOW WE CAN WORK THIS. BECAUSE WHATEVER IS DECIDED OR START TO WORK ON IS GOING TO AFFECT ALL OF THE CRIME LABS THAT ARE PROCESSING EVIDENCE AND WHO WILL BE TESTIFYING IN HARRIS COUNTY. YEP. IN HARRIS COUNTY. SO I THINK EVERY, ALL OF THEM NEED TO BE AT THE TABLE AS WELL, UM, TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. OKAY. [00:55:05] WE'LL KEEP, WE'LL KEEP PLUGGING AT IT. I MEAN, I, YOU'VE GOT ALL THE OTHER INFORMATION THAT I PUT IN THE PACKAGE THERE FOR YOU. MY, MY MAIN GOAL HERE IS JUST THIS, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL UNDERSTAND, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THIS SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE FACED WITH. I WILL CONTINUE TO TALK WITH THE CITY ABOUT RESOURCES EVEN ACROSS THIS YEAR. UM, WE ARE OKAY, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S GREAT AND WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO HAVE CHALLENGES. I MEAN, THI THINGS LIKE THE IMPACTS THAT COME FROM THE COLON CASE AND WHAT WE MAY HAVE TO REWORK OUTTA THAT. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT MONEY COMES FROM. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF AMANDA'S FORWARDED THE INTERVIEW I DID JUST LAST NIGHT WITH A BC 13, THAT BD TUBE RECALL IS STILL IMPACTING CASES. UH, THERE WAS ONE THAT ENDED UP WITH PROBATION FROM THE VEHICULAR HOMICIDE FIVE-YEAR-OLD KID THAT WAS KILLED BECAUSE THE JUDGE EXCLUDED THE TOXICOLOGY EVIDENCE BECAUSE THE TUBE WAS ONE OF THOSE BD TUBE RECALL TUBES. THAT THESE THINGS STILL HAUNT US YEARS LATER. WE ARE STILL STRUGGLING WITH THESE THINGS WHEN, AGAIN, IF WE'RE AT THE POINT, AT SOME POINT, IF WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE WE ABSOLUTELY CAN'T MOVE THE NEEDLE, WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING. YOU'VE SENT LETTERS TO KIM, UH, LENA, I MEAN, WHOEVER WE'RE TALKING TO AND NOBODY'S TALKING BACK TO US. AND AS POSES I AM TO A ONE SHOT EDITORIAL. THE OTHER THING THAT THAT COULD HAPPEN IS THAT THIS BECOMES A CAUSE LOVE. AND THERE IS A, A STORY THERE FOR, FOR THE CHRONICLE. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A ONE SHOT DEAL. I'M TALKING ABOUT A SERIES. AND THE SERIES IS ESSENTIALLY SAYING, IF THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN, THIS IS WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA CLOSE DOWN. AND YOU KNOW, TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE SAY THAT THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE INFLUENCE SAY WE'VE GOTTA DO SOMETHING. I MEAN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A ONE SHOT DEAL DOESN'T WORK. NO. BUT I, I, I AGREE THERE, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE BECAUSE THIS IS FANTASTICALLY COMPLEX. YOU, YOU CAN'T GET THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT'S GOING ACROSS ON HERE ACROSS IN ONE ARTICLE AT ONE TIME. I MEAN, IS THE BOTTOM LINE AS YOU'RE PRESENTING IT, IS THE BOTTOM LINE. IF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN, WHATEVER THEY ARE MEETINGS, IF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN, THE LAB IS GONNA SHUT DOWN. WHAT I AM NOT GOING TO ALLOW TO HAPPEN IS COMPROMISING QUALITY STANDARDS. UM, SO I, I KEEP JOKING ABOUT THIS OF, YOU KNOW, PLEASE JUST GIVE ME THAT HEADLINE OF LABORATORY DIRECTOR ARRESTED FOR CONTEMPT FOR REFUSING TO COMPROMISE QUALITY STANDARDS. BRING IT ON. UM, WE'RE NOT GONNA COMPROMISE THAT PART, BUT THAT WILL MEAN STUFF SITS LONGER. THAT WILL MEAN, AND I THINK WE HAVE TO BE OUT IN FRONT OF IT. MY CONCERN IS THAT IF WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE'S GONNA STICK A MICROPHONE IN FRONT OF YOUR MO YEP. IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HEAR THAT THIS IS GONNA SHUT DOWN AND IT'S NOT GONNA BE, WE'RE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE DIRECTING IT. RIGHT. I MEAN THAT THERE, THERE IS ALWAYS THAT RISK OUT THERE. I WHAT ELSE CAN I ANSWER? SO YES, IF YOU COULD, I MEAN, I, I WILL REACH OUT AS WELL TRYING TO LOOK FOR SOME TIME HERE BETWEEN JULY, AUGUST, BUT WE NEED TO AT LEAST START A FORUM OF HOW DO WE TRY AND NAVIGATE PRIORITIZATION OF WORK IN A MORE ORGANIZED AND RATIONAL FASHION? BECAUSE WHO SCREAMS LOUDEST AIN'T WORKING. I ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE MORGUE EVIDENCE. WE KIND OF SAID THAT AND THEN WE WENT RIGHT ON INTO RIGHT ON OVER IT. UHHUH . IT'S LIKE POOF. UM, YOU HAVE ON YOUR SLIDE THAT IT TAKES 10 TIMES LONGER TO PROCESS THE ITEMS THAN, UH, THAN ITEMS BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO HFSC ANALYSIS FOR ANALYSIS. CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AND KIND OF TELL ME IT IS BECAUSE, BUT WHY WE HAVE TO GO MAKE THE SUPPLEMENTS IN R MS AND THERE ARE, SHALL WE SAY, A NUMBER OF HACKS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT HPD AND THAT TAKES TIME. WE ARE OFTEN HAVING TO RESEARCH WHERE THAT EVIDENCE BELONGS. WE ARE OFTEN HAVING TO DO QUITE A BIT OF RESEARCH TO ASSOCIATE AN ITEM WITH THE CASE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT HPD. [01:00:03] AND DOES ANY OF THAT EVIDENCE COME DIRECTLY? SHOULD ANY OF THAT EVIDENCE COME DIRECTLY TO US OR IS I I, WELL, I MEAN, I KNOW CLOTHING AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT ARE COLLECTED AT AUTOPSY. UM, YOU, YOU, YOU RAPIDLY END UP IN THE, WHAT STILL IS ONGOING CONVERSATION ABOUT EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT PERIOD BECAUSE YES, THERE ARE PLACES THAT IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. EVEN OUR CSIS COLLECTING EVIDENCE AT A SCENE THAT TAGS IN THROUGH THE PROPERTY ROOM FOR US TO THEN GO BACK OVER TO THE PROPERTY ROOM TO PICK IT UP, TO BRING, TO BRING IT TO THE LAP. THAT IS SILLY. EXCEPT HOW DO YOU BEST INVENTORY AND CONTROL THAT EVIDENCE? THAT'S WHY IT'S GOING THROUGH THE PROPERTY ROOM IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY INVENTORIED HAVE THAT PROPER CONTROL OVER THE EVIDENCE. SHOULD IT BE THAT WAY? NO, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK BETWEEN HERE AND THERE TO MAKE THOSE SYSTEMS WORK AS WE REALLY NEED THEM TO. IT'S, IT'S KIND OF SIMILAR WITH MORGUE EVIDENCE. UM, BUT WE'RE, WE HAVE GROWN TO THIS PLACE ORGANICALLY BECAUSE THERE WAS, THERE WAS A CSI WHO DID THIS FOR YEARS. IT WAS, IT WAS SKIS JOB FOR YEARS. UM, AND SO WE'VE NEVER HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW OBJECTIVELY DO WE MAKE THIS WORK BETTER FOR EVERYBODY WHERE IT, IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR IT TO BE A PROPERTY ROOM FUNCTION. BUT I UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STRUGGLING AS WELL. IT'S NOT JUST AS SIMPLE AS THEY'VE GOT THE TIME TO DO IT. WE ALL NEED TO SIT DOWN AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE DO THIS SO THAT IT ACTUALLY WORKS. RIGHT. BECAUSE IF THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH INVOLVED IN THE RIGHT, IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO PICKS IT UP, WHOEVER PICKS IT UP IS SOMEBODY'S STILL GOTTA DO THAT. SOMEBODY HAS TO ASSOCIATE IT RIGHT. AND GET IT WITH THE CASE. RIGHT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS ALL I, NOW I AM, I AM HOPEFUL. I'VE HAD SOME REALLY PROMISING CONVERSATIONS WITH MICROSOFT BECAUSE THERE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME GLIMMERS OF HOPE IN THIS. UM, THE COUNTY IS MOVING ITSELF INTO AZURE SYSTEMS. THE DA'S OFFICE IS ALREADY THERE IN THE AZURE PLATFORM. HPD IS IN THE AZURE PLATFORM. WE'RE IN THE AZURE PLATFORM, MICROSOFT AZURE, WHICH IS, WHICH IS THE CLOUD, THE, THE GOVERNMENT CLOUD. WITH THAT, THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY MORE PLACES WHERE SYSTEMS CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER, INFORMATION CAN MOVE BETWEEN US EASIER AND BETTER. THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIX THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS. LIKE THE REALITY IS AGENCY CASE NUMBER, WHICH IS HOW HPD UNDERSTANDS A CASE, OUR FORENSIC CASE NUMBER, WHICH IS HOW WE UNDERSTAND A CASE AND CAUSE NUMBER, WHICH IS HOW THE DA'S OFFICE UNDERSTAND A CASE. THERE IS NO CENTRAL PLACE TO TRANSLATE BETWEEN THOSE. SO YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS IS SOMEBODY ASKING AFTER, EVEN LIKE YESTERDAY, UH, THE LUGO CASE THAT WAS IN THE NEWS, THE JOURNALIST CALLED ME UP. IT TOOK US ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO FIND WHOSE CASE IT WAS. AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY CAME THROUGH US BECAUSE SHE HAD A CAUSE NUMBER, WHICH THEN WE HAD TO BACKTRACK FROM THE CAUSE NUMBER BACK TO AN AGENCY CASE NUMBER. AND THERE'S NO PLACE TO EASILY DO THAT. SOME BODY HAS TO DO THAT. SO THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, ONE TINY LITTLE SLICE OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT BETWEEN EVERYBODY THAT CREATES ALL KINDS OF HEADACHES. SO THERE'S, THERE'S HOPE OF PLACES TO FIX THAT. BUT AGAIN, IT'S TIME, IT'S RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THINGS LIKE THAT AND FIX THOSE THINGS BECAUSE THOSE THEN CREATE TIME DOWN THE LINE THAT EVERYBODY THEN HAS TO GO DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN COURT. OKAY. THANK YOU. NO, I MEAN, 'CAUSE EVERYTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY ARE HUGE SYSTEM ISSUES. YEP. THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT. YEAH. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE COME INTO THE TABLE AND INVEST IT IN FIXING OR AT LEAST LOOKING AT WAYS TO CHANGE THOSE PROCESSES BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR ABOUT A YEAR TO GET THE DA'S OFFICE SO THAT THEY CAN ACCESS WHAT WE CALL THE PORTAL. WHERE'S MY RESULT? THE PORTAL WHERE THEY CAN MAKE REQUESTS, PULL REPORTS. HP D'S BEEN IN THERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW. WE HAVE JUST NOW GOTTEN WHERE THE DA'S OFFICE CAN MOVE DATA BACK AND FORTH TO THAT. I'M HOPING THAT WE ACTUALLY CAN HAVE THAT IN PRODUCTION MAYBE BY THE FALL. BUT IT HAS TAKEN A YEAR TO GET TO THIS POINT. SHOULD IT HAVE TAKEN A YEAR? PROBABLY. NO. BUT THAT'S WHAT THESE SYSTEMS TAKE. SO WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO DO IN THE MEANTIME? UM, I THINK TO PONDER OR , WELL, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU NEED US TO DO? I THINK, HELP ME, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE MOST EFFECTIVELY DISCUSS WITH THE DA'S OFFICE ABOUT HOW TO GET THERE. I I, I [01:05:01] AM CONFIDENT THAT THEY DON'T WANT THIS TO WORK THIS WAY EITHER. UM, BUT HOW WE ENSURE THAT IT IS AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF PRIORITIZATION, THAT WE'VE GOT PEOPLE AT THE TABLE THAT CAN MAKE DECISIONS AND HAVE THOSE DECISIONS STICK IS WHAT WE NEED. GOT IT. OKAY. SO WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US? YOU NEED US TO HELP GET THE PEOPLE TO THE TABLE. YEP. OKAY. AT LEAST FOR NOW. AND THEN IN SEPTEMBER, AS WE HAVE A CHANCE TO DISCUSS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO OUR, OUR, OUR PROPOSALS ON CASE MANAGEMENT POLICIES, I, I AM HOPEFUL THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THE PRIORITY OF THIS AND THE DIFFICULTY AND WORKS ACTIVELY IN THE NEGOTIATION TO GET TO SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR EVERYBODY. IF WE RUN A GROUND, WE MAY NEED TO BE DISCUSSING IN SEPTEMBER MORE HAMMERS. OKAY. I HOPE NOT. BUT THAT MAY BE WHAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS IN SEPTEMBER. OKAY. SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU'RE GONNA REACH OUT TO BOARD MEMBERS TO HELP YOU YES. PULL THE PEOPLE TO THE TABLE. YES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I THINK EVERYONE HERE WILL BE WILLING TO HELP. OH, I APPRECIATE YOU. DO WHATEVER IS NEEDED. AND, AND, AND I MEAN, OTHER THINGS THAT I NEED FROM YOU IS EXACTLY THIS KIND OF FORM. THE, THE, THE QUESTIONS THE POINTED POINTING OUT, I MEAN, THIS IS AN ISSUE IN A FORUM THAT, I MEAN, I KNOW WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS FROM HPD HERE WHO KNOWS WHO WE'VE GOT ONLINE WATCHING IT. HOPEFULLY SOME FOLKS THAT ARE GOING, EH, YEAH. WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS. WHEN YOU SAID WE CAN HELP YOU, CAN WE HELP YOU GET PEOPLE TO THE TABLE? I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BATTLE PLAN IS. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU WANT AT THE TABLE. I MEAN, YOU DON'T, WHAT, WHAT I NEED AT THE TABLE FROM THE DA'S OFFICE IS SOMEBODY WITH BASICALLY THE AUTHORITY TO SAY, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE, WE WE'RE GONNA MAKE, UH, AN OFFICE WITHIN THE DIVISION, WITHIN THE DA'S OFFICE TO HELP PRIORITIZE. UM, SO MUCH OF THE CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW IS AT A CHIEF OF COURT LEVEL OR INDIVIDUAL ADAS. SOMEHOW WE NEED TO HAVE IT HIGHER UP IN THE STRUCTURE. SO WE NEED TO DECISION MAKERS AT THE TABLE. YES. MM-HMM . AND EMPOWERED TO BE ABLE TO SAY, OKAY, WE, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS. SOMEBODY WITH ENOUGH VISIBILITY ACROSS THINGS. SO IN YOUR IDEAL WORLD, THAT'S KIM. KIM AT THE TABLE. I LEAN AT THE TABLE. THE CHIEF OF POLICE AT THE TABLE. I I'M JUST TRYING TO YEAH, WELL ACTUALLY YEAH, WHAT THE STRATEGY IS, YOU KNOW. YEAH. NO, BUT I WOULD THINK NOT NECESSARILY KIM. YEP. TALKING TO THE MIC, SOMEBODY WITHIN THE OFFICE OR CHIEF OF POLICE THAT HAS TALKING TO THE MIC THAT HAS HER EAR, THAT IS A FUNCTIONARY THAT CAN ACTUALLY PULL IT TOGETHER, THAT HAS THE AUTHORITY WITHIN THE OFFICE. YOU SAYING NOT KIM DIRECTLY, BUT MAYBE HER. OH, SORRY. THANK YOU, . NO, NO, I'M JUST SAYING NOT NECESSARILY KIM, UH, BUT SOMEBODY HIGH ENOUGH IN THE STRUCTURE THAT CAN GET IT HAPPEN TO ORGANIZE IT, TO BRING IT TO KIM, SAY THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD WANT. UM, SAME THING WITH THE CHIEF OF POLICE. I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET THESE GUYS AND, AND INDIVIDUALS TO SIT DOWN AND KIND OF NOODLE THROUGH THIS. IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE PRESENTED TO THEM BY ONE OF THEIR, UH, DESIGNEES, UH, THAT HAVE THE AUTHORITY THAT CAN PRESENT IT TO THEM AND GET THEIR BUY-IN THAT WAY. SO THAT'S WHAT I THINK. WELL, I MEAN, I THINK WE GET, I THINK IF WE GET THE SENIOR PEOPLE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, AT LEAST TO HEAR WHAT WE'RE YEAH. ASKING FOR, THEN THEY CAN APPOINT THEIR DEPUTIES. YEAH, WELL, THE SENIOR PEOPLE BEING SOMEBODY LIKE HIGH UP, LIKE KIM'S NUMBER TWO OR THREE. UM, AND THEN THEY CAN PRESENT IT TO KIM AND UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY HAVE THE, UH, UH, THEY CAN PRESENT IT TO KIM SAYING, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE NEED. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO ENGAGE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I MEAN, JUST TO, TO GET SOMEBODY LIKE KIM TO SIT DOWN AND JUST SAY, HERE'S THE PROBLEM. IT'S JUST GOING THROUGH IT. I, I THINK WE'D BE BETTER SERVED TO GET SOMEBODY WHO CAN, UM, WHO UNDERSTANDS THE OFFICE, WHO'S BEEN IN COURT THERE, WHO UNDERSTANDS THE, UH, THE WAY THE SYSTEM WORKS, WHO'S HAS KIM'S RESPECT, BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE, SOMEBODY I'M THINKING OF IS, YOU KNOW, KIM'S NUMBER ONE OR TWO AND UM, AND THEN BRING KIM INTO THE DIALOGUE AFTER THEY SORT OUT WHAT THE ISSUE IS, HOW IT COULD BE ADDRESSED. AND, UH, INSTEAD OF HITTING KIM STRAIGHT OUT WITH IT, BECAUSE, UM, I, SHE, I'M QUITE POSITIVE SHE'S GOT A LOT OF THINGS THAT SHE'S DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW. AND, UH, SHE'S GONNA NEED SOMEBODY WITHIN THE OFFICE TO KIND OF SORT IT OUT AND, AND UH, AND, AND BRING IT TO HER. AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SHE SAYS, NO, [01:10:01] THIS ISN'T NEAT NECESSARY, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE DA DOES. THIS IS QUITE NECESSARY. YEAH. AND, UM, I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE REFINED AND LAID OUT FOR HER WITH SOMEBODY SHE RESPECTS WITHIN THE OFFICE THAT ALSO UNDERSTANDS, YOU KNOW, HOW THE SYSTEM WITHIN THE DA STRUCTURE AND THE COURT SYSTEM WORKS AND THE INTERPLAY WITH THE, UM, UH, UH, WITH THE FORENSICS HERE. UM, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, KIM IS, UM, SHE'S, SHE'S SITTING ON TOP OF THE OFFICE, RIGHT. BUT YOU NEED SOMEBODY THAT ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS THE DAY-TO-DAY WORKINGS OF WHAT GOES ON OVER THERE. NO, I, I AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT. I, UH, I DON'T, I WOULD TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. I MEAN, MY, MY APPROACH WOULD BE TO TRY AND GET THE SENIOR PEOPLE, WHETHER IT'S KIM, WHETHER IT'S, WELL THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, A PERSON WOULD BE SENIOR FIRST. I MEAN, I, SO THAT THEY, YEAH, THEY LISTEN TO WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. THEY'RE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT IF SOMETHING DOESN'T HAPPEN, WE MAY END UP REALLY LOSE, YOU KNOW, LITERALLY NOT MOVING ON. AND I THINK WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN IS KIM SAYS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SERIOUS AND I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO MY DEPUTY TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE CHANGES AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THE DEPUTY THERE WHO TRIES TO CONVINCE KIM. BUT THAT'S, THAT'S FOR A STRATEGY MEETING. I MEAN. YEAH. YOU KNOW. NO, I, I, I GET THAT. I MEAN THE, THE, THE PERSON WOULD NOT BE BRINGING IT TO KIM WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT ALL THE ISSUES ARE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE'S GONNA WANNA KNOW. WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? HOW CAN WE DO IT? UM, AND IF WE GET THE BUY-IN OF SOMEBODY WHO'S ONE OF HER TOP ASSISTANTS THAT CAN KIND OF, UM, UNDERSTAND FROM US WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, THEN I THINK WE'D HAVE A BETTER SHOT OF HAVING A DIALOG MEETING, FULL DIALOGUE WITH KIM STRAIGHT OFF. BECAUSE OTHERWISE, UM, I JUST THINK, UM, SHE'S GONNA TURN TO ONE OF HER ASSISTANTS ANYWAY. YEAH. AND SO IF WE START THE DIALOGUE AND THEY, AND THEY CAN TELL US, YOU KNOW, FROM THE UM, PERSPECTIVE OF THE DA'S OFFICE, YEAH, THIS MIGHT BE WORKABLE, THIS MIGHT NOT BE. AND LOOK, THEY'RE HER TOP DEPUTIES BECAUSE SHE TRUSTS THEM, SHE RELIES ON THEM. UM, AND UH, I JUST THINK THAT WE NEED TO, UM, REFINE IT WHAT THE ASK IS AND THEN TALK TO HER ABOUT IT. AND THEN IF SHE THEN BUYS INTO IT, WELL THEN GREAT. WE WE'RE OFF TO A START. AND UH, IT WILL HAVE TO BE REFINED FROM THERE. BUT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF LIKE OPERATIONALLY, UM, I DEFINITELY THINK YOU PROBABLY OUGHT TO START WITH SOMEBODY HIGH UP WITH AUTHORITY THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SPEAKS FOR THE OFFICE THAT CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. AND THAT CAN HELP US NOODLE THROUGH AND UH, AND THEN, UH, AND THEN BRING KIM INTO THE DIALOGUE OF COURSE. 'CAUSE KIM'S GONNA HAVE, UH, OR WHOEVER THE DA IS A FINAL, UH, SAY. SO MAYBE I'M BEING A BIT POLLYANNISH, BUT , , UH, I THINK THAT MAY BE THE WAY, UH, TO APPROACH THAT PARTICULAR OFFICE OVER THERE. SO DR. STOUT, WHY DON'T YOU KIND OF ABOUT THE BIG ISSUES AND THEN WE CAN START WORKING ON A PLAN OKAY. OF WHO WE NEED TO CONTACT AND WHEN WE WANT TO DO THIS. PREFERABLY GIVE THEM ENOUGH TIME BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THEIR SCHEDULES, WHOEVER'S GONNA COME YEAH. WHOEVER'S HIGH UP IN AUTHORITY OR PROBABLY REALLY BUSY. UH, SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH LEEWAY AND TIME, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THEY CAN COME TO THE MEETING PEOPLE, TO A MEETING IT SOUNDS LIKE. AND THEN PRESENT THE ISSUE USE AND SAY IS, I MEAN, THIS IS GONNA BE AN ONGOING PROCESS OF MEETINGS. MM-HMM . YES. AND THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA TAKE UNTIL, SO IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE. YEAH. I COULD LONGER THAN THAT, BUT YEAH, I MEAN REALLY, I MEAN, JUST TO TRY AND, AND NAIL DOWN DIFFERENT PROCESS. 'CAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM THAT ARE BROKEN THAT NEED TO BE, THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND TAKING ONE, I THINK AT A TIME AND, AND WE CAN PRIORITIZE, MAYBE THAT GROUP CAN PRIORITIZE AND THEN WORK ON EACH ONE OF THOSE. 'CAUSE I MEAN, THIS COULD BE A LONG TERM WORKING GROUP. I SEE THIS AS TRYING TO ADDRESS ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY. 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF SYSTEMIC ISSUES. YEAH. ALRIGHT. SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE MARVELOUS AT THE OTHER END OF THIS IS AN ONGOING WORKING GROUP THAT HAS AUTHORITY TO HELP PRIORITIZE CASES ACROSS THE SYSTEM THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEE IDEALLY IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF REPRESENTATION FROM THE JUDICIARY. NOT THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IT'S DELICATE FOR THEM. AND AGAIN, EACH JUDGE IS A SOVEREIGN ELECTED OFFICIAL. BUT HOW THEY, HOW WE WORK WITH THE COURTS TO MANAGE CASES. THE DA'S THERE, THE LABORATORIES THERE. SOMETHING FROM THE FUNDING [01:15:01] RESOURCES. BECAUSE YOU ALSO THINK, I MEAN, DISPOSITION OF EVIDENCE SOMEWHERE IN THERE THAT HAS HUGE IMPACTS FOR EVERYBODY'S BUDGETS AND THE FLOW OF EVIDENCE THROUGH THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. AND IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE. HOW DO YOU EXPEDITE THAT STUFF? HOW DO YOU GET EVERYBODY THERE AND THAT IT ROUTINELY MEETS AND IT'S JUST HOW WE MANAGE THIS GIGANTIC COMPLEX SYSTEM THAT AFFECTS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. SO I, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT, AT LEAST WITH HPD 'CAUSE I, I TALK ROUTINELY WITH CHIEF SLINKER AND CHIEF FINNER AND CHIEF JONES. I MEAN, THOSE, THOSE ARE PROBABLY THE THREE BIG ONES THAT I WORK WITH THAT HAVE IMPACTS WITH THE LABORATORY THE MOST. UM, IT'S THE DA'S OFFICE THAT I NEED THE MOST HELP WITH. SO THEN IF YOU WILL KIND OF BULLET MY OUT SOME THINGS. OKAY. 'CAUSE THIS WAS A REALLY NICE DETAILED PRESENTATION. YEP. SO IF WE COULD GET SOME BULLET POINTS OKAY. AND HAVE A LIST OF WHO NEEDS, WHO NEEDS TO BE AT THE TABLE SO THAT IF ANY OF US NEED TO HELP GET PEOPLE AT THE TABLE, WE AT LEAST HAVE CONVERSATION POINTS INSTEAD OF JUST CALLING, SAY, HEY, WE HAVE A MEETING. YEAH. UM, WE'D LOVE YOU TO BE THERE. THIS IS WHY. YEP. SO THAT WHOEVER'S GONNA MAKE THOSE PHONE CALLS HAS, YOU KNOW, A LIST OF THE, THESE ARE THE ISSUES THAT, THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT AND START THAT CONVERSATION DISCUSSION. ELLEN, DOES THAT SOUND GOOD? YEAH. I MEAN IT'S, I MEAN, IT'S A START, BUT IT'S A START. YEAH. I, WE, WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE. TO ME, THIS IS JUST SO, UH, SUCH AN ENORMOUS PROBLEM. BECAUSE WHAT I GET THAT PETER'S SAYING IS IF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN, WE'RE GOING TO SHUT THINGS IN. SHUT. THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN. YEP. PUT A PADLOCK ON THE DOOR. THAT'S INCREDIBLY SERIOUS. YES IT IS. AND IT'S GONNA BUY. AND FROM A POLITICAL POINT OF VIEW, I MEAN, THE DA DOESN'T WANT HER NAME ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE PAPER FOR BEING THE REASON THAT WE CAN'T MOVE FORWARD. UM, THE CHIEF DOESN'T. THAT'S FOR SURE. SO I, UH, I THINK OTHER THAN THE BOARD MEETING, I MEAN, IT REALLY REQUIRES A STRATEGIC, IT'S A BATTLE. I MEAN, THESE ALWAYS, IN ANY OF THESE POLITICAL THINGS, YOU HAVE TO, I, I AM CONFIDENT NOBODY IN THE CITY, NOBODY IN THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT. AND WE DIDN'T MENTION THE CITY FOR EXAMPLE. DO YOU WANT THE CITY AT THE TABLE? I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY RESOURCES COME FROM THE CITY. NOW WHETHER THAT'S RESOURCES FOR HPD OR RESOURCES FOR US, IT COMES FROM THE CITY. AND THERE IS A BALANCE OF PLACES WHERE THE CITY HAS STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS TO SUPPORT THE INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL EVENTS. AND WHERE THE COUNTY DOES BOTH HAVE POINTS THAT THEY HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO BOTH HAVE POINTS THAT, YOU KNOW, AS, AS LOVELY AS IT WOULD SEEM TO SAY, LIKE FLOATED IN ONE. WHAT IF WE HAD AN EXPEDITE FEE? I WHAT IF WE HAD WHAT AN, AN EXPEDITE FEE? YOU, YOU WANT THIS EXPEDITED, YOU CHARGED FOR IT. BUT THAT'S, SURE. YOU KNOW HOW THAT ACTUALLY MECHANICALLY HAPPENS. THERE ARE INPUTS FROM BOTH COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENTS ABOUT HOW, AND IF THAT'S EVEN POSSIBLE, UM, HOW WE DIVIDE UP THIS ENORMOUS TASK. 'CAUSE REALLY IT AFFECTS ALMOST 5 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY. THIS IS AN ENORMOUS THING. AND NOBODY WANTS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN HARRIS COUNTY THAT IS CATACLYSMICALLY BACKLOGGED. WELL, YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE RAPE KITS WERE BACKLOGGED. YEP. AND THERE WAS ENOUGH INFLUENCE AND POWER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND WE REDUCED THE RAPE KITS AND THAT WAS ONE TYPE OF EVIDENCE FOR BASICALLY ONE TYPE OF CRIME. WE ARE TALKING EVERYTHING. RIGHT. BUT ONCE PEOPLE WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD KITS SITTING ON THE SHELVES FOR YEARS THAT NOBODY HAD EVER LOOKED AT AND THE CITY DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKED. YEAH. I, NOBODY LIKES THE WAY THAT LOOKS. I MEAN IT'S, BUT YES, THAT'S SOME, SOMEHOW WE'VE GOTTA GET IT STARTED. ALRIGHT, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? I APPRECIATE IT, Y'ALL. ALRIGHT, SO OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO BOARD VOTE OR ANY FINAL DECISION ON THIS. WE'RE JUST NOW BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF ADDRESSING THIS AND PULLING PEOPLE TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN FURTHER DIVE INTO THIS AND THEN LOOK AT, AND LOOK AT THE ISSUES. UM, OBVIOUSLY THE STAFF IS GONNA CON CONTINUE WORKING ON THESE ISSUES WITH DR. STOUT. HE'S GONNA REACH OUT TO THE STAKEHOLDERS. PLEASE USE THE BOARD TO REACH OUT AS WELL. UM, 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE FOLKS HERE GROW ON FIRST NAME BASIS, UH, WITH, WITH SOME OF [01:20:01] THE STAKEHOLDERS AND WHO CAN, YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO CAN HELP MAKE SOME OF THOSE PHONE CALLS AND TO HELP TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES. SO PLEASE, PLEASE DO THAT. UM, IF THE TIME COMES FOR THIS BOARD TO ACT OR SHOW ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR ANY CHANGES, I KNOW THAT WE'LL BE PREPARED TO DO WHATEVER'S NECESSARY TO HELP, UH, FOR OUR STAFF. UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS TOPIC THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT? DO WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOME DIRECTION? I THINK I DO. I'M ALSO ALREADY STARTING TO GET EMAILS FROM OUR TAG MEMBERS, UH, OFFERING HELP. SO . OH GOOD. OKAY. YOU'RE WATCHING. EXCELLENT . OKAY, SO IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, THEN I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 10, WHICH IS THE ADJOURNMENT. UM, SO IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? DIRECTOR MEDINA? MOTION TO MOVE, UH, TO AD TO ADJOURN. DIRECTOR HILDER SECONDED. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. AND ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY, THE MOTION CARRIES AND THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 10:21 AM THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING. THANK YOU. ELLEN. YOU STILL HAVE TIME ON THE METER? YOU HAVE TIME. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.