* 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. [00:00:19] GOOD MORNING. IT IS NINE O'CLOCK AND I'M GOING TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER OF THE HOUSTON FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. UH, WELCOME. JUST AS A COUPLE OF NOTES TODAY, WE HAVE THREE VOICE VOTES AND WE WILL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. LET'S MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE ROLL CALL. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? YES, MADAM CHAIR. ALL RIGHT. AND WE'LL START, UM, CHAIRWOMAN MITCHELL HERE. VICE CHAIR GOODWIN. DIRECTOR QUEZ. HERE. DIRECTOR HILDER. PRESENT. DIRECTOR SILVERMAN. DIRECTOR COHEN KIA. DIRECTOR MOORE. I GO DIRECTOR BAIRD HERE. DIRECTOR HUFF HERE. AND DIRECTOR CALABRESE HERE. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, EXCELLENT. WE HAVE A PRO, UH, QUORUM. SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE IS OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL 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 LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. YOU MAY SPEAK, UH, ON ANY MATTER CONCERNING THE BOARD AND HFSC AT THIS TIME. AND DO WE HAVE ANYONE AT IN THE AUDIENCE WHO HAS SIGNED UP? HI, HOW ARE YOU? OKAY. SEEING THAT THERE ARE NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN OUR AUDIENCE TODAY WHO HAVE SIGNED UP FOR COMMENT, I WILL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. ALRIGHT. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS THE DRAFT MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 17TH BOARD MEETING. UH, NOW WE WILL CONSIDER THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THAT MEETING. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MEETING? MINUTES? OKAY, I HEARING NONE. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 17TH? MOTION? THANK YOU. DIRECTOR VASQUEZ, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. SECOND. FROM, UH, DIRECTOR BAIRD. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY, GREAT. THE, UH, MOTION IS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD. SO THE MEETING MINUTES ARE APPROVED. ALRIGHT, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT. THIS IS JUST A MONTHLY UPDATE OF ACTIVITIES, UH, AND OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS. UH, LET ME START BY WISHING EVERYONE HAPPY NEW YEAR. SO I THINK WE CAN STILL, THAT IS, SAY THAT IS JANUARY THE 12TH. SO, BUT STILL, I'M STILL GONNA SAY IT 'CAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE SEEN EACH OTHER SINCE, UH, LAST YEAR. SO HAPPY NEW YEAR. I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL BREAK AND HAD SOME TIME TO REST AND RELAX AND RECHARGE BECAUSE I KNOW 2024 IS GOING TO BE A EXCITING YEAR FOR US. UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ARE WELCOMING A NEW MEMBER, A MAYOR, TO THE SENT, UH, TO THE CITY MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER, AS WELL AS SEVERAL NEW AND RETURNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. I KNOW THE TRANSITION IS STILL ONGOING AND THERE WILL OF COURSE BE SOME CHANGES, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION AND CON CONTINUING OUR STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN HFSC AND THE CITY. LASTLY, MEMBER OH, MEMBERS, I WANNA REMIND YOU THAT HFSC HAS ITS INTERNAL COMPANY MEETINGS DURING THE SAME WEEK AS WE HOLD OUR BOARD MEETINGS. IN FACT, THEY'RE, UH, THEY HOSTED THE JANUARY MEETING JUST TWO DAYS AGO ON WEDNESDAY. THESE MEETINGS ARE HELD AT 9:00 AM AND ALTERNATE BETWEEN IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL. THIS IS A GREAT WAY FOR THE STAFF TO MEET, UH, EVERYONE ON THE BOARD, AND IT'S A GREAT WAY FOR THE BOARD TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS OF THE H OF HFSC. I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY EXTEND AN INVITATION TO MEMBERS TO ATTEND THE COMPANY MEETINGS THIS YEAR. IF YOUR SCHEDULE'S DUE PERMIT, UH, MS. ZY WILL SEND YOU THE MEETING DATES AND REMINDERS, AND SO YOU CAN HELP COORDINATE, UH, YOUR, YOUR ATTENDANCE WITH HER. I KNOW DR. STOUT AND HIS TEAM WOULD BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU THERE. I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL OF THEM, BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN, SO I'M GONNA LOOK, MAKE SURE THAT I TRY AND, UH, HIT THE NEXT COUPLE MEETINGS JUST TO, JUST TO HAVE A PRESENCE AND JUST TO SAY, YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD JOB. AND WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORTS, UM, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE GOING ON. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, JUST A QUICK REMINDER, UM, WE'RE GETTING READY FOR OUR BUDGET TIME AND SO MARCH WILL BE OUR BIG MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET. SO IF WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A QUORUM AT THAT MEETING, THAT WOULD BE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL SO WE CAN MOVE SOME THINGS FORWARD. AND WITH THAT FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX IS THE REPORT FROM DR. PETER STOUT, [00:05:01] WHO IS OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO. HE WILL DISCUSS AN OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS, TECHNICAL UPDATES, AND OTHER CORPORATE BUSINESS ITEMS. UH, DR. STOUT, THE FLOOR IS YOURS NOW. GOOD MORNING, Y'ALL HEAR ME? OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, SO I WILL TRY AND ACTUALLY STAY A LITTLE SHORTER THIS TIME. FIGURING WE'VE GOT KIND OF A LESS IMPACTFUL MEETING THIS TIME AND MARCH WILL BE MORE IMPACTFUL. SO WHAT I PUT IN THE PACKAGE THIS TIME, I, WE, WE'VE BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER MATERIALS THAT WE WOULD USE THAT WE WILL USE, UH, IN GETTING NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, NEW STAFFERS OVER TO THE LABORATORY FOR AN INTRO. I PULLED SOME OF THOSE PARTS OUT FOR YOU. UM, THERE ARE SOME COMPONENTS OF IT THAT ARE IN THE DETAIL DATA. THERE'S, THERE'S A FOUR BY FOUR, UM, TABLE AND THE, IT'S GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN THE DETAIL DATA. AND THEN WHAT I'VE GOT ARE JUST KIND OF THE TOP TAKEAWAYS FOR EACH OF THE DISCIPLINES. JUST WE, WE COVERED A LOT OF THE BACKLOG STUFF PRETTY HEAVILY LAST MEETING. I DIDN'T WANNA HIT THAT YET AGAIN. SO THESE ARE JUST SOME UPDATES IN EACH OF THE SECTIONS. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS WE GO IN FORENSIC BIOLOGY. AND I KIND OF PUT THESE IN ORDER OF RELATIVE ATTENTION. 'CAUSE FIGURE WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN THE COURTS ARE A PRIORITY ON HOMICIDES, VIOLENT CRIME KIND OF TRIALS. SO BIOLOGY, FIREARMS, A LITTLE BIT LATENT PRINTS, BUT MOSTLY BIOLOGY AND FIREARMS ARE THE DISCIPLINES THAT ARE PARTICULARLY OF ATTENTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S INVOLVED WITH MOST OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES, BIOLOGY, STAFF TURNOVER AND RECRUITING AND TRAINING. PROBABLY STILL THE SINGLE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT WE AND EVERY OTHER LABORATORY IN THE COUNTRY ARE STRUGGLING WITH RIGHT NOW. WE'VE GOT SEVEN ANALYSTS THAT WE'VE RECRUITED AND ARE IN TRAINING, UM, WHICH IS MARVELOUS, THAT WILL DO MARVELOUS THINGS FOR CAPACITY. WHEN THEY COME ONLINE. WE EXPECT THE FIRST OF THEM PROBABLY TO START GETTING SIGNED OFF IN ABOUT NINE MONTHS AND HOPEFULLY THE LAST OF THEM GETTING SIGNED OFF IN ABOUT A YEAR. UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE TALKED MANY TIMES, THERE'S A LENGTHY ARC IN TRYING TO GET THESE PEOPLE TRAINED. THESE ARE ALL DNA ANALYSTS. SO THESE ARE, OH, BACK UP HERE. REMEMBER, OUR BACKLOG REALLY EXISTS AS DATA. UM, THE STUFF THAT EVERYBODY THINKS ABOUT IN THE LABORATORY GOES RELATIVELY SMOOTHLY AND RELATIVELY QUICKLY. SO REALLY WHAT THIS ALL IS, IS THE DATA THAT THEN THE DNA ANALYST, THE PERSON WHO'S WRITING THE REPORT, HAS TO SIT DOWN WITH THAT, REVIEW THOSE DATA, UNDERSTAND THOSE DATA, INTERPRET THOSE DATA, DEAL WITH THE COMPLEX STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DATA AND WRITE THE REPORT. THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ONE REQUIRE THE MOST TRAINING. THEY'RE ALSO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MOST PRECIOUS IN THE COUNTRY, THE MOST DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT. IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S REALLY ANY OF 'EM TO POACH. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYBODY'S STRUGGLING. UM, NOW REMEMBER RIGHT NOW AND FOR A WHILE, AND THE INTENTION IS FOR A WHILE STILL, PRETTY MUCH ALL THE SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS THAT WE GET, WE OUTSOURCE THOSE. THE COMMERCIAL LABORATORIES ARE REALLY BUILT AROUND THE OUTSOURCING OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS. UM, SO IT'S, IT'S RELATIVELY EASY TO OUTSOURCE THOSE. BUT RECALL, THERE ARE ONLY FOUR LABORATORIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT ARE ACCREDITED IN TEXAS. THERE'S SIGNATURE SCIENCE, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE A LITTLE BIT LATER TODAY. THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE HERE IN TEXAS. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE HAVE PRIMARILY USED. THERE'S BODHI, WHICH IS IN PENNSYLVANIA. THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE. THERE IS A LABORATORY IN UTAH CALLED INTERMOUNTAIN, WHICH HAS A HISTORY. AND THERE'S A LABORATORY IN FLORIDA CALLED DNA INTERNATIONAL, WHICH ALSO HAS A HISTORY. SO WE'VE PRIMARILY USED BODHI IN SIGNATURE SCIENCE AND PRIMARILY WE USE SIG SCI RIGHT NOW. AND I SAY ALL OF THAT BECAUSE COMMERCIAL LABORATORIES ARE STRUGGLING WITH CAPACITY. WE TYPICALLY SEE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 90 AND 120 DAY TURNAROUND TIMES FROM COMMERCIAL LABORATORIES CURRENTLY. AND PRICES HAVE GONE UP. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS I THINK ABOUT A YEAR AGO. THE PRICES HAD JUMPED ON US ABOUT 80%. I'M FULLY EXPECTING PRICES TO JUMP MORE ON US, PROBABLY ABOUT ANOTHER 50%. UM, THAT MEANS THE PACE AT WHICH WE NEED TO OUTSOURCE IS OUTSTRIPPING THE FEDERAL GRANT MONEY, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT. UM, I HAVE TO SAY, REALLY, UM, IT HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARY WORKING WITH BOTH HPD AND THE DA'S OFFICE HERE IN THE LAST MM, SIX MONTHS. UM, WE HAVE NO FEWER THAN FOUR STANDING MEETINGS A WEEK TRYING TO NAVIGATE THROUGH PRIORITY SETTING AND HOW WE BALANCE PRIORITIES. IT IS A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR ALL OF US. IT'S A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR HOW DO WE MAINTAIN ENOUGH CAPACITY TO DO ALL OF [00:10:01] THESE THINGS SO THAT WE TRY NOT TO UPEND COURT CASES. WE TRY NOT TO UPEND INVESTIGATIVE PRIORITIES AND WE BALANCE THE NEEDS FROM THE DA'S OFFICE WITH THE NEEDS FROM HPD. AND IT'S NOT EASY, BUT THE, UH, PRIORITY PORTAL HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN THAT. BUT EVEN MORE HELPFUL IS THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY IS HANGING IN THE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS OF HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE PICK WHOSE CASE GOES FIRST? UM, SO LIKE I SAY, THERE'S, THERE'S AT LEAST FOUR STANDING MEETINGS A WEEK THAT WE WORK THROUGH THIS EVERY WEEK. I HAVE A QUESTION. YES, MA'AM. WHEN YOU HAVE THE DA'S OFFICE AND HPD, ARE THEY, ARE THEY AT EACH OTHER? I MEAN, ARE OR ARE THEY DEALING WITH THE SAME CRIME? ARE THEY, I MEAN , HOW, HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE IT? WHO GETS TO GO FIRST? UM, IT'S, IT CAN'T LIE. SOMETIMES IT'S TENSE. UM, IT, IT IS, IT'S A REALLY DELICATE BALANCE, UH, BECAUSE YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, WE END UP WITH CASES THAT THE COURT IS DRIVING THE PRIORITY. AND AT TIMES WE'VE HAD COURT ORDERS TO DO TESTING. WE'VE GOT COURT ORDERS THAT DETERMINE THE TIMING THAT IT HAS TO HAPPEN. AND IN ORDER TO SATISFY A COURT ORDER FROM A JUDGE, WE HAVE TO DISRUPT AND DEPRIORITIZE OTHER THINGS. UM, AND TO HPDS CREDIT, THEY HAVE BEEN QUITE FLEXIBLE, UH, IN TRYING TO WORK WITH THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS A REAL CHALLENGE FOR US OF BALANCING, MAINTAINING ENOUGH CAPACITY FOR HPDS NEEDS IN INVESTIGATIONS WITH THE VERY REAL PRIORITIES THAT THE DA'S OFFICE HAS. AND, UH, THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GONNA GET THERE IS IF EVERYBODY HANGS IN THE CONVERSATION AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S EYES WIDE OPEN OF, OKAY, YOU GET TO GO FIRST THIS WEEK, BUT WE NEED TO GO FIRST NEXT WEEK. ALL OF THAT COULD BE DISCHARGED IF WE HAD MORE FUNDING. YES. AND WELL NOT JUST FUNDING, BUT BE ABLE TO HIRE THE PEOPLE THAT, YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN IT'S, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE. RIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON BIOLOGY SO FAR? IT'S NOT TOO DISSIMILAR PICTURE IN FIREARMS. UM, AGAIN, WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE STANDING MEETINGS EVERY WEEK A TRYING TO WORK THROUGH WHOSE FIREARM CASE GOES FIRST. ONE THING I WILL SAY IN THIS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, SHORT ON CAPACITY, WE'VE GOT NOW, UM, FIVE EXAMINERS THAT ARE IN TRAINING. TWO THAT'LL BE DONE HERE IN THE SUMMER AND THREE, THAT'LL BE DONE PROBABLY NEXT SPRING, 2025. AND, AND FIREARMS IS PROBABLY OF ALL OF THE DISCIPLINES, PROBABLY THE LONGEST TRAINING ARC OF ANYBODY. UM, SO CAPACITY IS ON THE WAY, BUT IT'S A LONG WAY OUT. UM, THE OUTSOURCING POTENTIAL FOR FIREARMS IS VERY LIMITED. WE ARE WORKING ON AN AGREEMENT WITH TARRANT COUNTY. THEY HAVE TWO EXAMINERS UP THERE AND I ALREADY KNOW DPS HAS PURCHASED, HAS, HAS CONTRACTED WITH THEM FOR SOME OF THEIR CAPACITY ALREADY. SO IT IS VERY LIMITED CAPACITY UP THERE. BUT WE WILL PURSUE WHATEVER WE CAN TO TRY AND HELP MOVE THINGS WHERE WE CAN. AGAIN, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY ACTIVE PRIORITY MANAGEMENT WITH HPD, THE DA'S OFFICE EVERY WEEK TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT GOES WHERE. COURT PRIORITIES LARGELY OCCUPY THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAVE. AND I'LL SAY THAT IT HAS A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT BECAUSE WHAT'S GOING TO TRIAL MURDERS, VIOLENT CRIMES, THEY TEND TO BE THE MORE COMPLICATED CASES. THEY TEND TO BE THE CASES THAT HAVE MORE ITEMS. SO THEY TEND TO BE THE LONGER CASES FOR US TO WORK, WHICH THEN MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR US TO TRY AND DO WHAT MAY BE A SHORTER CASE FOR AN INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSE. IT'S A REALLY TOUGH BALANCE. AND IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME CHALLENGE WE'VE GOT IN BIOLOGY. AND I, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'VE GOT EXAMINERS COMING. THAT'S WHEN RELIEF WILL START BEING AVAILABLE. ANY QUESTIONS ON FIREARMS? ALRIGHT, SEIZE DRUGS. THIS IS ANOTHER SPOT THAT, WHILE IT'S NOT TYPICALLY INVOLVED WITH THE VIOLENT CRIME, SEIZED DRUGS IS A PLACE THAT BACKS INTO, UH, DETENTION ISSUES. 'CAUSE SEIZED DRUG CASES ARE AN ENORMOUS PART OF THE CASELOAD. THEY ALSO TEND TO BE AN ENORMOUS PART OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN JAIL. SO THIS IS WHERE DRUGS TEND TO GET A LOT OF THE ATTENTION. WE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY LOST ANOTHER ANALYST. UM, WE'VE GOT THREE IN TRAINING, BUT WE JUST LOST ANOTHER ONE. SO WE'RE SHORT ABOUT FIVE ANALYSTS IN THERE. UH, THOSE THREE HOPEFULLY SHOULD BE [00:15:01] GETTING SIGNED OFF HERE SOON. UM, AND THEN WE WILL HIRE FOR TWO MORE TO START TRAINING. AS SMALL AS THE GROUP IS, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TRAIN MORE THAN TWO OR THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME. 'CAUSE REMEMBER TO TRAIN A PERSON TAKES A PERSON. SO WHEN I ONLY HAVE ABOUT FIVE PEOPLE WORKING, IF YOU TAKE 'EM ALL OFF TO TRAIN A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE WE'RE NOT WORKING. UM, MAKES, UH, MAKE, MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO TRAIN MORE PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME. UM, YEAH, BACKLOGS ARE GROWN AND SEIZE DRUGS. WE, UH, HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOU REMEMBER ALL OF THE STUFF THAT WE DID TO BE QUALIFIED FOR THE COVERDALE GRANT. WE WERE SUCCESSFULLY AWARDED THAT. YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, UH, I THINK WE HAVE ALREADY CONSIDERED THE CONTRACT ON THAT LC TRIPLE, HAVEN'T WE? I THINK WE HAVE. OR IS THAT NOT YET? OKAY, SO THERE'S, THERE'S A CONTRACT OUT THERE YET. WE STILL, FOR THE PURCHASE OF THAT EQUIPMENT, OF THAT EQUIPMENT IS REALLY TO DEAL WITH THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY. SO WE'VE GOT ALL OF THIS THAT STAFFING, BUT THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY OF TESTING IN DRUGS, ALL OF THESE PILLS MEAN MORE MIXTURES OF DRUGS MEAN MORE DIFFICULT TESTING. SO THE COVERDALE GRANT THAT WE SUBMITTED WAS TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT TO HELP TRY AND DEAL WITH THE INCREASING COMPLEXITY SUCCESSFULLY AWARDED WORKING ON THE PROCUREMENT OF THAT. SO THERE'S, THERE'S A CONTRACT COMING ABOUT THAT PURCHASE OF THAT EQUIPMENT. AND WE DO HAVE, UM, A CONTRACT AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HPD ABOUT WHEN THIS WILL GO. BUT WE DO HAVE AN AVENUE TO OUTSOURCE SOME OF THE LOWER PRIORITY CASES TO A COMMERCIAL LABORATORY THAT'S UP IN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA. NOW KEEP IN MIND, WHEN YOU'RE OUTSOURCING CEASE DRUGS, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES LIKE SHIPPING. 'CAUSE YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE SHIPPING LARGE QUANTITIES OF DRUGS AROUND. SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE TARGETING ARE SMALL PERSONAL POSSESSION CASES. IT'S ALSO TO TRY AND MITIGATE RISKS FOR THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. WHAT WE'RE TARGETING ARE LARGELY, SHALL WE SAY, SIMPLER CASES AND CASES THAT ARE LESS LIKELY TO REQUIRE TESTIMONY BECAUSE YOU COULD EASILY END UP WITH A SITUATION OVER IT IS A VERY SMALL LABORATORY. THERE MAY BE 20 PEOPLE IN THIS LAB. SO IF THEY'RE DEALING WITH A BUNCH OF TESTIMONY LO LOAD, WE'RE REALLY NOT GETTING ANYWHERE ON IMPROVING CAPACITY. SO THERE'S A PRETTY SPECIFIC STRATEGIC SET OF SAMPLES THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING TO DEAL WITH THAT. NOW. PART OF THE LIMITATION HAS BEEN HPDS CAPACITY TO BE ABLE TO PULL THESE SAMPLES TO THEN BE ABLE TO SHIP 'EM TO THE LAB. SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HPD IN PRIORITIZING WHAT MATERIALS WE'RE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH, UM, TO HELP THEM DEAL WITH SOME OF THE STORAGE PROBLEMS THAT THEY'VE GOT OVER THERE. SO THERE'S A VERY COMPLEX PUZZLE OF HOW WE STAGE DOING ALL OF THIS, BUT THERE IS SOME ABILITY TO OUTSOURCE SOME OF THAT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. ANY QUESTIONS ON SEIZED DRUGS? ALRIGHT, TOXICOLOGY. UM, SORRY, MY, MY PROGRESSIVES MAKE IT TOUGH TO SEE IT ON THE SCREEN OVER THERE. UM, COMMON STORY STAFF RECRUITING, TRAINING, RETENTION ISSUES THAT WE'VE GOT EVERYWHERE. WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO POSITIONS VACANT IN TOXICOLOGY AND ARE RECRUITING FOR THAT, UM, TRAINING STAFF ON BLOOD ALCOHOL SO THAT WE'VE GOT EXPERIENCED DRUG EXPERIENCED STAFF MORE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE DRUG TRAINING. UM, AND TOXICOLOGY IS ONE SPOT WHERE THERE IS A COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY IN TOX, BOTH OUTSIDE OF THE FORENSIC AREA AND IN FORENSICS AND ALSO POST-MORTEM LABORATORIES. THOSE THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MEDICAL EXAMINERS TEND TO BE A LESS STRESSFUL POSITION THAN CRIME LABS. MOST POSTMORTEM, TOXICOLOGISTS NEVER HAVE TO TESTIFY. IT'S THE PATHOLOGIST THAT DOES ALL THE TESTIMONY. SO, UM, A TOXICOLOGIST IN A PATHOLOGY LAB, WHOLE LOT LESS STRESSFUL THAN BEING IN A CRIME LAB. AND THAT TENDS TO DRIVE PEOPLE TOWARDS POSTMORTEM TALKS AND ALSO OUT INTO OTHER SECTORS. UM, IN MORE CLINICAL TESTING, THAT'S AGAIN, LESS STRESSFUL. SO WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST THAT IN TOXICOLOGY. UH, I WILL SAY WE'VE MAINTAINED ALCOHOL AT ABOUT 40 ISH DAYS. LIKE WE WERE FIGURING, UM, THE DRUG BACKLOG CONTINUES TO GO DOWN. IT'S, IT'S REALLY PRETTY LOW. I MEAN, TOXICOLOGY IS DOING OKAY. I HAVE TALKED WITH HPD ABOUT THE FACT THAT IF TRAFFIC INTERDICTION CHANGES, UM, THAT COULD EASILY DISRUPT US BECAUSE IF WE SEE A RAPID INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF DUI CASES COMING TO US, IT COULD BE A PROBLEM. WE'RE, WE'RE STABLE AT THE MOMENT, BUT IT'S GONNA BE DEPENDENT ON THE INPUT. ANY QUESTIONS THERE? ALRIGHT. I MAY FI FINISH IN RECORD TIME HERE. I KNOW THE MEETING BASICALLY LASTS AS LONG AS MY [00:20:01] MOUTH KEEPS GOING. SO, UH, CRIME SCENE, UH, WE TALKED KINDA A WHILE AGO ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE CLEARED OUT A HISTORICALLY PRETTY LARGE BACKLOG THERE AND THEY HAVE MAINTAINED THAT BACKLOG QUITE LOW. UM, TURNOVER IS ALWAYS AN ISSUE IN CSU. I MEAN, THIS IS PROBABLY THE END OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT IS THE HARDEST ON PEOPLE. UM, IT'S JUST IMPACTFUL WORK. IT TAKES A TOLL ON PEOPLE BETWEEN THE SHIFT WORK, THE GRIMNESS OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING. THEY DO A MARVELOUS JOB WITH IT. BUT TURNOVER WILL ALWAYS BE AN ISSUE IN CSU. UM, AS WE HAVE TALKED MANY TIMES BEFORE, WE ARE STILL IN THAT POSITION THAT WE RESPOND TO HOMICIDES, CHILD DEATHS, OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS. IN MY OPINION, THIS IS A HORRIBLE STY THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO RESPOND TO AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS AND SEXUAL ASSAULTS. I THINK WE SHOULD. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING THING THAT I HAVE ADVOCATED FOR FOR YEARS. I KNOW EVERYBODY ROLLS THEIR EYES AND RUNS AWAY FROM ME WHEN I START RANTING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THOSE THINGS. WE'LL KEEP WORKING AT THAT. UM, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A HPD WORKS WITH US VERY WELL ON THIS. I WILL SAY, AND ACTUALLY I THINK, UM, JACKIE'S FIGURES HIGHLIGHT THIS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE COURT'S BACKLOG, CRIME SCENE, FIREARMS BIOLOGY ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE THE UNITS THAT ARE SPENDING THE MOST TIME SITTING OVER AT THE COURTHOUSE. CSU IS THE SINGLE LARGEST CHUNK THAT SITS OVER AT THE COURTHOUSE WAITING TO TESTIFY, PREPARING FOR TESTIMONY. IT'S A BIG IMPACT TO US. WE ARE LOSING THOUSANDS OF HOURS TO THIS. AND AS ANY PROSECUTOR WILL TELL YOU, COURT IS NEVER EFFICIENT. IT'S SOMETHING WE JUST HAVE TO GEAR FOR AND UNDERSTAND, BUT IT'S A BIG IMPACT TO US. QUESTIONS ON CRIME SCENE? I HAVE A QUESTION. QUESTION. YEAH. SO, UM, IS IT YOUR EXPERIENCE THAT IN OTHER COUNTIES, LIKE IN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CASES, SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES, THAT, THAT THEY WILL SEND OUT A PERSON FROM THE LAB? VERY MIXED BAG. SO ONE, IT'S PROBABLY MAYBE ABOUT 60 TO 70% OF CRIME SCENE UNITS ARE WITHIN A LABORATORY. SO IT'S, IT'S A MIXED BAG OF CRIME SCENE IS JUST SIMPLY WITHIN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR WITHIN THE LABORATORY. UM, IT IS VERY MIXED ON THE SIZE OF CRIME SCENE UNITS. SO LIKE IN AUSTIN, THEIR CRIME SCENE UNIT IS ACTUALLY SCALED ENOUGH THAT THEY HAVE A COMPONENT THAT ACTUALLY IS AVAILABLE TO EVEN MAKE PROPERTY CRIMES. SO THEIR CRIME SCENE MAKES MOST OF THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS. UM, IT IT, IT'S NOT LIKE THE SCENE ISN'T GETTING INVESTIGATED WITH AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, BUT WHAT IT DOES IS IT PUTS THE PRESSURE ON ALREADY OVERWHELMED OFFICERS TO HAVE TO GO COLLECT THAT EVIDENCE AND PROCESS THAT SCENE. SO BEING ABLE TO HAVE A CAPACITY OF A PROFESSIONALIZED CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR GO MAKE THAT SCENE MEANS AN OFFICER CAN GO GET BACK TO DOING STUFF THAT ONLY AN OFFICER CAN DO. I MEAN, PLUS, I MEAN, HE'S NOT GONNA THINK ABOUT THINGS LIKE TRACE EVIDENCE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S A DIFFERENT THOUGHT PROCESS. YEAH. YEAH. ALRIGHT, THANKS DIRECTOR COHEN, YOU HAD A QUESTION? YEAH. WHAT'S THE AVERAGE TENURE OF AN EMPLOYEE, WHETHER IT'S GENERALLY ON THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? UM, THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE TENURE ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION IS 4.7 YEARS. UH, THIS YEAR WE WILL HAVE 23 PEOPLE THAT HIT 10 YEARS. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I'M FIGURING WHAT KIND OF BOX I CAN MAKE FOR SUSTAINABLY OVER THE ENTIRE YEAR. UH, WE'VE GOT 14 MORE PEOPLE THAT WILL MAKE FIVE YEARS. I HAVE MADE NOW A HUNDRED AND TEN FIVE YEAR BOXES. UM, SO FOR AN ORGANIZ ZAZA [00:25:53] WE STRUGGLE WITH YES. YOU, YOU, YOU GOT ME ON ONE OF MY SOAPBOXES HERE. SORRY. UM, THERE'S REALLY GOOD ACADEMIC PROGRAMS THAT GRADUATE STUDENTS, BUT EVEN A STUDENT IN FORENSIC SCIENCE IS GONNA BE AT LEAST A YEAR AWAY, IF NOT MORE, LIKE TWO YEARS AWAY FROM BEING CASE READY BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH MORE PRACTICAL STUFF. ALL THE STUFF ABOUT TESTIMONY, ALL THE STUFF ABOUT THE PROCEDURES AND STUFF THAT'S, THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THAT LOCAL JURISDICTION, IF THERE WERE A WAY TO GET THOSE STUDENTS CLOSER TO CASE READY BEFORE THEY COME TO A LABORATORY, WOULD BE A HUGE BOON TO THE LAB. SO WHAT WE'RE, WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS AN ACADEMY LIKE SYSTEM THAT HELPS WITH SAY, A PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION POSTGRADUATE, UM, LICENSED, UH, MED TECHS. IF YOU'RE LOOKING, UM, THE CLINICAL WORLD AT ALL IS KIND OF THE MODEL THAT THAT IS A LICENSE THAT, THAT'S A CERTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT FOCUSES ON THINGS LIKE BENCH LABORATORY SKILLS, WEIGHING, PIPETTING, DOING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. THE TYPES OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE USE IN LABORATORIES. AND QUITE FRANKLY, I WAS REALLY STRUCK WHEN I WAS IN TAIWAN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE, UM, CENTRAL POLICE UNIVERSITY ACTUALLY HAS A REALLY EXTRAORDINARY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FORENSIC SCIENTISTS. NOW THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS IN TAIWAN THAT ARE DIFFERENT THAN HERE. IT'S A CENTRALIZED POLICE SYSTEM. BUT, UM, HENRY LEE ACTUALLY MANAGED TO GET IN THE YEAR OF THE TAIWANESE GOVERNMENT ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO AND CONVINCED THEM TO INVEST HEAVILY IN TRAINING IN TAIWAN. SO, BEAUTIFUL FACILITIES, BEAUTIFUL EQUIPMENT. THEY'VE GOT STUDENTS THAT GO THROUGH THERE THAT HAVE HANDS-ON EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT IS USED IN THE LABORATORIES THAT COME OUT OF THAT PROGRAM. FAR MORE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING THAN ANYTHING WE'VE GOT IN THIS COUNTRY. OKAY. I HAD A SECOND QUE I HAD A, I'M SORRY. OH, CAN I JUST FOLLOW UP WITH PETER FOR A SECOND? YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE. . NOW PETER, JUST TO AMPLIFY, I GUESS WHAT WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. IF, IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT, UM, YOU'RE KIND OF POSITIONING NOW, UH, FOR THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION TO, UM, GET THEM MAYBE INTERESTED IN AN ACADEMY, I THINK THAT GIVES US RUNNING ROOM FOR THE NEXT YEAR OR SO TO REALLY PUT TOGETHER A PLAN THAT AN ACADEMY HERE IN THE MEDICAL CENTER BECAUSE THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE TO BRING ALL THE ACADEMICS AND THE UM, UH, JUST ALL THE DISCIPLINES IN, IN ONE AREA IS ALREADY HERE. AND WHY NOT? UM, HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT IT ALREADY, BUT, UH, TO HAVE IT IN THE MEDICAL CENTER AND HAVE A FORENSICS LAB AND ACTUALLY PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER SO WHEN THE LEGISLATURE MEETS, I MEAN, WE'RE KIND OF READY TO GO, UM, BECAUSE IT JUST MAKES PERFECT SENSE AND THAT WOULD BE THE PIPELINE AND IT WOULD, UM, ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THE CERTIFICATION. UM, BUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE'S KIND OF HERE WITH THE MEDICAL CENTER MM-HMM . I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY NEED FUNDING AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT, UM, BUT EVERYTHING IS HERE, SO WHY NOT, WHY NOT, YOU KNOW, START PULLING IT TOGETHER NOW. SO WE'RE KIND OF READY TO GO. I AM HAPPY TO GO AT THIS ANY POSSIBLE WAY WE CAN. I'VE GOT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT TEXAS ASSOCIATION CRIME LAB DIRECTORS TO START TALKING WITH OTHER LABS ABOUT HOW WHAT IT IS WE THINK WE NEED, HOW IT IS WE TRY TO PUT IT TOGETHER. SO YEAH, I MEAN THIS IS CLEARLY, THERE IS A HUGE CHALLENGE. UM, I MEAN, IT'S ACROSS THE WHOLE COUNTRY, BUT WE'VE GOT A SCALE HERE IN TEXAS THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS NATIONALLY, THERE'S A SCALE HERE TO DO SOMETHING FOR TEXAS. OKAY. I THINK DIRECTOR COHEN HAD A QUESTION. AND THEN JED, UH, I, I KNOW THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BANE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT UHHUH PROBLEM WITH THE POLICE OFFICERS AND THE TIME NOT POLICE OFFICERS, YOUR STAFF AND THE TIME THEY HAVE TO SPEND WAITING TO GO TO COURT. YEP. AND I'M SURE I'M ABOUT TO SAY YOU'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED [00:30:01] BECAUSE , BUT I MEAN, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO ME TO BE ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITIES THAT THE, THE JUDGE AND HIS OR HER STAFF WOULD PAIGE, THE, I MEAN, YOU ARE 15 MINUTES AWAY FROM THE COURTHOUSE HERE. YEAH. UM, CALL PAIGE DO WHATEVER IT IS AND IT IT, YES. I I YOU'RE ON IN 15 MINUTES. I MEAN WE, WE, I ADMITTEDLY WE, WE STRUGGLE WITH A LOT OF FRUSTRATION ABOUT THIS. I WILL SAY IN DEFENSE OF ADAS AND JUDGES MM-HMM . COURTROOMS ARE, I KNOW ALWAYS CHAOTIC. IT IS ALWAYS UNPREDICTABLE FOR THEM. UM, COULD IT BE SMOOTHER? SURE. UH, DOES IT NEED TO BE SMOOTHER SOMEHOW? WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS. AND WE'VE GOT MULTIPLE EFFORTS GOING ON WITH THE DA'S OFFICE RIGHT NOW, PARTICULARLY AROUND DISMISSED AND DISPOSED CASES. SO FOR INSTANCE HERE, THE FIRST NINE DAYS OF 2024, WE HAD PEOPLE SUBPOENAED IN 27 TRIALS, 24 OF WHICH WENT AWAY BEFORE THEY TESTIFIED. UM, FROM JANUARY TO JULY OF LAST YEAR, WE GOT 2300 SUBPOENAS IN ABOUT 885 CASES, OF WHICH ABOUT 45% OF THEM WERE DISMISSED OR DISPOSED. SO YOU'RE SAYING DISMISSED THE DAY OF THE NO, NOT, NOT NECESSARILY THE DAY OF. UM, BUT WHAT IT, IT, IT, IT'S NOT THAT ALL OF THAT WAS WASTE. IT'S NOT THAT ALL OF THAT WE COULD HAVE NOT TESTED. THERE ARE PROBABLY A GOOD CHUNK OF THOSE CASES THAT WERE DEPENDENT ON THE LABORATORY RESULT IN ORDER FOR THE CASE TO BE DISPOSED OF. BUT HOW WE COMMUNICATE, UM, MORE EFFECTIVELY BETWEEN US AND THE DA'S OFFICE, AND I MEAN, THE SAME IMPACT HITS THE POLICE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GET FOUR TO 5,000 SUBPOENAS A YEAR FOR 200 PEOPLE. THAT MEANS HPD GETS TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SUBPOENAS. IT'S, IT'S MORE, IT'S LARGER THAN JUST US. AND IT'S A SYSTEMATIC THING OF HOW DO WE FIND A WAY TO SYSTEMATICALLY MANAGE THIS STUFF. AND IT'S, IT, IT REALLY, THERE THERE'S A COMPLEXITY TO IT THAT IS, IS TOUGH TO ADDRESS. BUT YES, WE LOSE THOUSANDS OF HOURS TO THIS BECAUSE POST ADAM VINCENT, WE HAVE MUCH MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS ON US NOW FOR THE PREPARATION FOR TRIAL. SO ALL OF THOSE 2300 SUBPOENAS MEAN MUCH MORE TIME THAT OUR PEOPLE NEED TO SPEND PREPARING FOR TRIALS THAT NEVER GO. ONLY ABOUT 10% OF 'EM GO TO ACTUAL TRIAL. SO THAT'S A LOT OF PREPARATION TIME THAT'S NOT IN THE LABORATORY. SO YOU CAN SEE THE REALLY VICIOUS FEEDBACK CYCLE THAT HAPPENS, THE COURT'S BACKLOG, AND AS THEY TRY TO CARVE THROUGH, THAT MEANS MORE TESTIMONY DEMAND ON US, MORE PREPARATION DEMAND ON US, WHICH MEANS LESS RESOURCES. WE HAVE TO CONDUCT THE WORK THAT THEN CONTRIBUTES BACK TO THE COURT'S BACKLOG. 'CAUSE THEN WE DON'T HAVE STUFF READY WHEN THEY NEED IT AND WE JUST FEED OFF OF EACH OTHER. UM, BUT BREAKING THE CYCLE IS GONNA BE, BUT DOESN'T THE JUDGE, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, SO YOUR STAFFER, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER IT IS MM-HMM . SMITH, UM, IS SUPPOSED TO GO ON ON TUESDAY. YEP. THE JUDGE IS, AND BELIEVE ME, I KNOW THE HOW CONFUSING THE COURT SYSTEM IS. YEP. BUT, UM, AT SOME POINT THEY'RE LOOKING AT A DOCKET. I MEAN, IT IS THE DOCKET. YEP. AND IT SAYS SMITH AT 10 O'CLOCK, THEY WOULD KNOW WHETHER THEY'RE NOT PUTTING SOMEBODY ELSE IN FRONT OF 'EM. THEY WOULD KNOW WHETHER 10 O'CLOCK IS AND, AND THEY PAGE 'EM. NO, I I KNOW YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT IT. OH YEAH. YOU'VE DONE IT. I JUST, FOR ME, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY. I MEAN THAT ACTUALLY SIMPLE ACTION CAN ACTUALLY THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT, I GOT I THINK I COULD ADD SOMETHING TO THAT. THAT MIGHT HELP. I'M SORRY. YEAH. GET UP CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE. YEAH. THE, THE PRACTICALITY OF IT, BECAUSE I'M DOWN IN THOSE COURTS EVERY SINGLE DAY, IS THAT, UM, WE MAY HAVE THE JOHNSON CASE THAT'S SET AT 10 O'CLOCK AND WE PLAN THE STATE PLANS ON CALLING THE ANALYST RIGHT AFTER OFFICER SMITH IS GONNA TESTIFY. AND THEN OFFICER, OFFICER SMITH GOT DELAYED FOR SOME REASON. UM, AND THEN THE JUDGE IS LIKE, OKAY, CALL YOUR NEXT. OKAY. YOU KNOW, AND SO, AND THEN IF THE PROSECUTOR'S STANDING THERE AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, I TOLD THE PEOPLE FROM THE LAB NOT TO BE HERE TILL 11 BECAUSE I WAS GONNA HAVE THIS OTHER WITNESS TESTIFY. THERE'S A LOT OF JUDGES THAT ARE DOWN THERE THAT ARE LIKE, WELL I GUESS WE'RE NOT GONNA HEAR ABOUT A TEST RESULT. WHAT CALL YOUR NEXT WITNESS. AND THAT'S THE REALITY OF IT. YEAH. OR THE PRACTICALITY OF IT. AND SO, UM, BUT WHEN A CASE IS DISMISSED, THIS IS KIND OF AN ISSUE I HAVE WITH IT. SO WHEN A CASE IS DISMISSED, THE DA'S [00:35:01] OFFICE DOESN'T CALL THE LAB AND SAY THE CASE HAS BEEN DISMISSED. YOU DON'T NEED TO SEND PEOPLE DOWN HERE TYPICALLY. NO, THAT'S BAD. I MEAN, THAT'S INEXCUSABLE BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN I TRY A LOT OF CASES AND I HAVE NUMEROUS CASES SET FOR TRIALS AND I ISSUE MANY, MANY SUBPOENAS FOR WITNESSES. YEAH. AND WHEN A CASE IS DISMISSED BEFORE I LEAVE THE COURTROOM, I STEP INTO THE WITNESS ROOM AND PICK UP MY PHONE AND I CALL MY WITNESSES AND TELL THEM NOT TO COME DOWN THERE. SO, SO I GUESS SO THAT'S EASY. I MEAN, THAT'S INEXCUSABLE. I WILL FIND MYSELF DEFENDING THE ADAS, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE POOR PEOPLE HAVE A THOUSAND CASES SITTING ON THEIR DESK AND THEY GET SOMETHING DISMISSED. THEY'RE IMMEDIATELY MOVING ON TO THE NEXT THING. YEAH. BUT THEY HAVE INTERNS, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES EITHER. UH, AND IT, IT IS MULTI-LAYERS IN THIS. NOW I WILL ALSO SAY I AM CERTAIN THAT THERE PROBABLY ARE DRIVERS THAT I CAN'T SEE OF WHY JUDGES DOCKET 50 60 TRIALS FOR A WEEK, OF WHICH THEY KNOW ONLY A COUPLE OF 'EM ARE GONNA GO TO TRIAL. SO WHAT THAT DOES IS THEN IT FORCES THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE TO HAVE TO PREPARE 50 OR 60 CASES. 'CAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES ARE ACTUALLY GONNA GO THAT WEEK, WHICH MEANS THEY'VE GOTTA SUBPOENA EVERYBODY ON THAT. THAT DRIVES HUGE NUMBERS OF SUBPOENAS TO US. PREPARATION FOR US, WHEN THE JUDGE KNOWS, THERE'S ONLY GONNA BE A COUPLE OF THOSE CASES THAT GO TO TRIAL THAT WEEK. I SUSPECT SOME OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, THE JUDGES ARE STRUGGLING WITH THESE ENORMOUS DOCKETS IN TRYING TO MOVE THAT STUFF ALONG AS WELL. SO EVERYBODY'S GOT A PIECE IN THIS. AND EACH OF OUR BACKLOGS INFLUENCE AND AFFECT EVERYBODY ELSE'S BACKLOG. IT'S JUST THOUGH, BY ISSUING THE SUBPOENAS THOUGH, THE REALITY OF IT IS THAT WHEN THE LAWYER'S TALKING TO THEIR CLIENT, UH, THE LAWYER'S GONNA LOOK ONLINE AND IS GONNA SEE IF SUBPOENAS HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND IS GOING TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION WITH THEIR CLIENT THAT THE STATE'S REALLY READY ON THIS CASE AND THEY'VE GOT THEIR SUBPOENAS ISSUED. AND, UH, A LOT OF TIMES IN THE MORNING OF TRIAL, A DEFENDANT IS GONNA DECIDE TO RESOLVE HIS CASE BECAUSE IT APPEARS HE'S REALLY GONNA GO. AND SO THE SUBPOENA ISSUE, I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF IT. THE WHOLE THING'S PART OF IT AND PART OF RESOLVING CASES. YEAH. AND THIS, THERE IS AN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS FOR EVERYBODY AND A NEW AND ADMINISTRATION INCLUDED OF JUST HOW COMPLEX THIS CHALLENGE IS. IT'S LOTS OF PIECES TO IT, AND WE'RE ALL INTERDEPENDENT ON EACH OTHER. GOOD QUESTIONS. I HAVE A QUITE, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. HAS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO CREATE A TASK FORCE THAT CAN BRING ALL THESE ELEMENTS TOGETHER? THERE'S, THERE'S A COUPLE OF EFFORTS AT THAT. UM, I GUESS I'LL CLASS THEM AS MODESTLY SUCCESSFUL SO FAR, , BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONE PIECE OF THE SYSTEM. IT'S A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM, RIGHT? YES. SO YOU'VE GOT TO GET ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER YES. UH, TO FIGURE THAT OUT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE, UH, WHAT THE PRECURSORS TO ALL OF THIS ARE OF, IF WE DO THIS, HERE'S THE SECOND AND THIRD ORDER OF EFFECT YEP. THAT WE SEE WITH THE COURTS AND WITH ALL OF THAT. SO WITH THIS NEW MAYOR COMING IN, HE'S NOT GOING TO ACCEPT, I THINK AN ANSWER OF, OH, WE DON'T KNOW THE SOLUTION. I THINK HE'S LOOKING TO EVERYBODY TO SAY, WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? AND IF YOU CAN'T COME UP WITH IT, I WILL. SO I HOPE THAT, THAT YOU WILL, UH, KEEP UP YOUR GOOD EFFORTS IN TRYING TO GET ALL THOSE PLAYERS TO THE TABLE BECAUSE IT'S GOT TO HAPPEN. YEAH. WE, WE KEEP WORKING AT IT. AND WHAT, AGAIN, THE JUDGES ARE CONFRONTED WITH CHALLENGES THAT I'M SURE I CAN'T SEE ALL OF THOSE, BUT THERE ARE HOW MANY DISTRICT JUDGES IN, IN HARRIS COUNTY? I MEAN, 2023? NO, WELL, 26. NO. AND THEN WE HAVE ALL THE IMPACT COURTS. IT'S LIKE CLOSE TO 30 DISTRICT COURT JUDGES. THERE'S, AND IN DEFENSE OF THE DR. STOUT IN THE LAB, UM, IT'S LIKE DEALING WITH, AS ANYBODY KNOWS WHO'S WORKED IN COURT, IT'S LIKE DEALING WITH 30 DIFFERENT KINGDOMS AND EACH JUDGE IS GOING TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. AND SOME JUDGES WOULD BE SYMPATHETIC TO THE ANALYST BEING 15 MINUTES AWAY. AND I'VE BEEN IN TRIALS WHERE THE STATE DIDN'T HAVE ANALYSTS THERE AND THERE WAS DNA EVIDENCE TOXICOLOGY AND THE JURY NEVER WOULD HEAR ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, THANK GOODNESS FOR ME, BUT BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T HAVE THE, UH, THE ANALYSTS THERE. SO, YEAH. AND SO CONCERNS, I HAVE THREE NEW COURTS CAME ONLINE THIS YEAR. THREE NEW COURTS COME ONLINE NEXT YEAR. MARVELOUS FOR HARRIS COUNTY. IT'S, IT'S THE FIRST REAL EDITION OF DISTRICT COURTS TO HARRIS COUNTY IN WAY TOO LONG FOR THE POPULATION INCREASE. BUT THAT MEANS SIX MORE COURTS THAT ARE PAR PROCESSING IN PARALLEL WITH ALL THE EXISTING COURTS. AND THAT DEMAND IS GONNA COME DOWN ON US WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. [00:40:02] SO I HAVE A QUESTION. DOES, UM, DOES THE LAB EVER HIRE PEOPLE LIKE THROUGH THE H ONE B PROCESS? NON-CITIZENS GREEN COURT? OH, I HECK, YEAH. I'M, UM, WHY WE, WE ARE EXPLORING THAT, PARTICULARLY SINCE I GOT BACK FROM TAIWAN AND REALIZED JUST HOW GOOD SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE OVER THERE. OH, HECK YEAH. YEAH. I'M THINKING ABOUT IT. . I MEAN, I THINK THOSE PEOPLE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO YEAH. BE HERE. AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY'RE QUALIFIED? YEP. SO WHY ISN'T THAT? WELL, WE HAVE, WE HAVE HIRED, I THINK HALF OF THE PUERTO RICAN LAB, UH, . WE, WE WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT IT UNTIL WE GOT AN APPLICATION FROM THEIR HR DIRECTOR. , ANY PLACE WE CAN FIND QUALIFIED PEOPLE, WE ARE, WE ARE, WE'RE HUNTING FOR IT. SO, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. SO IS THIS REALLY DOWNTIME WHEN THE ANALYSTS ARE IN COURT AND THEY'RE JUST SITTING THERE? OR CAN THEY DO SOMETHING ONLINE? NOPE. WITH THEIR WORK, THE INTERNET IN THE COURT IS POOR. PLUS IT'S NOT CONDUCIVE TO SITTING AROUND WORKING. MM-HMM . UM, SO YEAH, WHEN THEY'RE OVER THERE AND WE'VE HAD PEOPLE OVER THERE FOR LITERALLY DAYS, IT HAPPENS. AND IT'S LIKE I SAY, UNFORTUNATELY RIGHT NOW, IT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS CSU FIREARMS AND BIOLOGY. IT WOULD REALLY NOT. IT'S, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE REALLY TOUGH THINGS. IT'S, IT'S REALLY EASY TO LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS WITHIN THE SYSTEM AND SAY THEY SHOULD JUST DO, BUT EVERYBODY'S DEPENDENT ON EVERYBODY ELSE. LIKE J SAYS, YOU KNOW, IF STUFF CHANGES, WHICH HAPPENS OFTEN IN COURT AND THE JUDGE DOESN'T WANNA DEAL WITH IT, THAT TRIAL IS GONNA BE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED BECAUSE WE'RE ON CALL IN 15 MINUTES AWAY. IT'S, IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE FOR EVERYBODY. YEAH. THAT'S ABOUT WHERE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY GETS IT AT ABOUT THIS POINT IN THE CONVERSATION IS LIKE, HUH, OKAY, WHAT DO WE DO? . ALRIGHT, LAST ONE ON HERE. DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA, UM, ARPA, I MEAN, OKAY. WE, WE'VE, WE'VE SENT IN ARPA REPORTS ON EVERYTHING. ARPA DOLLARS HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO US. THEY HAVE BEEN, I, I HOPE EVERYBODY LOOKS AT US AND GOES, WOW, THEY'VE SPENT THAT REALLY WELL. 'CAUSE ARPA HAS HELPED CARVE AWAY BACKLOGS. MULTIMEDIA IS ONE OF THOSE. UM, 'CAUSE ARPA HAS REALLY HELPED US WITH THE CAPACITY THERE. UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON CROSS TRAINING, BUT REALLY MULTIMEDIA IS, WHEREAS IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SERIOUS RECRUITING AND RETENTION CHALLENGES THERE. IT'S NOT THAT THEY WON'T BE BACK, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. UM, AND RIGHT NOW MULTIMEDIA HAS PRETTY MUCH RETIRED WHAT BACKLOG THEY HAD. UM, SO THOSE ARE MORE THAN I WAS FIGURING A GOOD CONVERSATION ON TESTIMONY STUFF. UM, THOSE ARE THE DISCIPLINES. KIND OF JUST A UPDATE OF WHERE WE'RE AT ON STUFF. LIKE I SAID, THERE'S LOTS MORE DETAILS TYPICAL IN THE DETAIL DATA, BUT ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER HERE TODAY? WE KEEP PLUGGING AT IT. I APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU DR. STOUT. WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, UNLESS ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY LAST BURNING THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS. OKAY. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS OUR CONS. UH, TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A CONTRACT FOR DNA OUTSOURCING SERVICES BETWEEN THE CORPORATION AND SIGNATURE SCIENCE TO BE FUNDED BY THE FY 2023 BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, BJA, THEIR DNA CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT AND BACKLOG REDUCTION FEDERAL GRANT. THE TOTAL BUDGET IS NOT TO EXCEED $637,356. UH, MEMBERS, IF YOU'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE SUMMARY SHEET FOR THIS ITEM, YOU'LL RECALL THAT THIS CONTRACT IS FOR OUTSOURCING CASEWORK ON OUR FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION. HFSC HAS CONSISTENTLY UTILIZED OUTSOURCING IN THE FORENSIC BIOLOGY SECTION TO ASSIST WITH OPERATIONAL NEEDS OVER THE YEARS. WE ARE FORTUNATE TO RECEIVE THIS GRANT EVERY YEAR AND UTILIZE IT TO ASSIST IN WORKING THROUGH OUR BACKLOG, WHICH WE KNOW IS A PRIORITY FOR THE CORPORATION AND OUR STAKEHOLDERS. WITHOUT THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS, H-H-F-S-C WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT AT THIS TIME. DR. STOUT, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS AGREEMENT? UH, THERE'S NOT TOO MUCH DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS THAN ANY OF THE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE DONE, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AGREEMENT? OKAY. HEARING NONE, WE WILL NOW HAVE A VOICE VOTE TO APPROVE THE OUTSOURCING CONTRACT. UH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED? SECOND DIRECTOR COHEN, DIRECTOR HILDER. SECOND. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANYONE OPPOSED? OKAY. THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. WE'LL GET IT SIGNED AND UNDERWAY. OKAY. THANK Y'ALL. THANK [00:45:01] YOU. OKAY. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS OUR REPORT FROM MS UH, JACKIE MORRELL, WHO IS OUR QUALITY SPECIALIST. HERE SHE COMES. NOW INCLUDE, WILL INCLUDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM, UPDATES ON QUALITY AND PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT ACCREDITATION, AND OUR TESTIMONY METRICS. GOOD MORNING. HI. HI. GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. UM, AS DR. UH, DR. MITCHELL MENTIONED, UM, IT'S NOT ON, SORRY. NO, IT, IT WASN'T ON, SORRY. THOUGHT IT WAS ON . UH, AS DIRECTOR MITCHELL MENTIONED, UM, MY TOPIC RIGHT NOW FOR, FOR THESE SLIDES IS OUR BLANK QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM. UM, I WANTED TO SHOW THAT WE COMPLETED OUR MONTHLY GOALS FOR BOTH THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER AND OF AS OF DECEMBER. NOW, SINCE THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR, IT'S A GREAT TIME TO GIVE YOU A QUICK OVERVIEW OF ALL OF OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROLS SUBMITTED FOR 2023. AS YOU CAN SEE, I'VE DEPICTED, UM, THE GRAPHICS FROM ALL OF THE, THE, OUR ANNUAL GOAL FOR SUBMISSIONS AND THOSE BLINDS THAT WERE ACTUALLY SUBMITTED, UM, SHOWING THAT WE DID FULFILL OUR, OUR YEARLY GOAL. IN ADDITION, UH, THIS YEARLY GOAL IS FLUID. THIS YEARLY, UM, THIS GOAL IS EVERY YEAR WE CALCULATE IT WITH THE 5%, UH, TYPICALLY THE FIVE, APPROXIMATELY 5% OF THE OUTPUTS FOR, UH, FOR THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS EACH YEAR. AND I'VE ALSO INCLUDED THE DATA OF, IN ADDITION TO THE BLIND, SUBMITTED THE BLINDS THAT WERE ALSO COMPLETED AND ANALYZED BY THE SECTIONS. NOW I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A NEW BOARD MEMBER, SO I WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT IS OUR BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM. NOW, THIS BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM IS IN ADDITION TO OUR PROFICIENCY TEST PROGRAM. UH, PER REQUIRE, UH, PER ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS, WE'RE REQUIRED TO MONITOR THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR AUTHORIZED STAFF MEMBERS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR. UH, ONE OF THE MAIN LIMITATIONS FOR PROFICIENCY TESTS IS THAT THE ANALYSTS ARE AWARE THAT THEY'RE BEING TESTED AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY ANALYZING A PROFICIENCY TEST. SO IN ORDER TO CIRCUMVENT, UH, THIS LIMITATION, WE CREATED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DR. STOUT, A BLIND QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM IN 2015. WE CREATED THIS IN 2015 IN ORDER, UM, TO CREATE AND SUBMIT SAMPLES THAT LOOK LIKE REAL CASE WORK, UM, IN ORDER TO MONITOR REAL TIME THE RELIABILITY OF OUR TECHNICAL PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES. AND WITH THIS, UM, THIS ALSO ALLOWS US TO CONFIRM TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS THE RELIABILITY OF OUR WORK PROCESSES. TO DATE, WE HAVE COLLECTIVELY SUBMITTED OVER, UH, 3,111 BLINDS, AND WE'VE ALSO AUTHORED FOUR PUBLICATIONS ON THIS PROGRAM. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC? UM, I ALSO WANTED TO UPDATE THE BOARD ON OUR LATEST A NAB PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE ACCREDITATION ASSESSMENT THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR, UH, ON DECEMBER 11TH. UM, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN WORKING, THE QUALITY DIVISION HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CSCM IN PREPARING THIS FOR, IN PREPARING THEM FOR THIS NEW ACCREDITATION PROGRAM FROM A NAB. UH, THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 17 0 2 5 ACCREDITATION PROGRAM. SO WE HAD TO WORK WITH THEM, UM, FROM ZERO BECAUSE IT'S A NEW SET OF NEW REQUIREMENTS. UH, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE CAN SHOWCASE THAT THEY, UM, ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK WAS, UM, WAS GREAT BECAUSE WE ONLY HAD ONE NON-CONFORMANCE NOTED AS PART OF THIS ASSESSMENT. UH, IN ORDER TO REMEDIATE THIS NON-CONFORMANCE, WE NEEDED TO REVISE OUR QUALITY MANUAL, WHICH BECAME EFFECTIVE VERY, REALLY EARLY, UM, THIS MORNING. AND, UH, UM, AND I ALREADY SENT ALL OF A COPY OF THIS AND ALL THE OTHER RELATED PAPERWORK TO THEM AND I GOT AN EMAIL CONFIRMING BEFORE I I THIS MORNING THAT I SHOULD BE HEARING SOMETHING NEXT WEEK AS TO THEIR DECISIONS. SO HOPEFULLY IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS, I WILL WORK WITH NATALIE AND SUBMITTING THIS GOOD NEWS TO EVERYBODY IN HER NEW ACCREDITATION FOR, UH, CSEM. I DO WANNA NOTE THAT CSEM IS THE FIRST EVIDENCE UNIT UNDERGOING ACCREDITATION THROUGH THIS NEW PROGRAM. SO IT'S BEEN A LEARNING EXPERIENCE BOTH FOR A AND A B AND FOR US AS WELL. IF I MAY, JACKIE, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT SHE KIND OF GLOSSED OVER THERE, THIS IS THE FIRST PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE UNIT ON THE PLANET TO GET THIS ACCREDITATION. SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS A BIGGER DEAL THAN SHE'S KINDA MAKING IT OUT TO BE THERE. AND A REMARKABLE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THIS. UM, PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE HAS BEEN A PLACE CHRONICALLY WITHOUT ANY [00:50:01] REAL OVERSIGHT FOR YEARS. NIST HAS A WORKING GROUP, ACTUALLY, STACY, YOU'VE BEEN ON THAT WORKING GROUP IN THE PAST, UM, ABOUT PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE HANDLING. SO ANAB PICKING UP AND ACTUALLY CREATING AN ACCREDITATION PROGRAM FOR THIS IS HUGE. AND THEN OUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS HAS BEEN A BIG STEP FORWARD IN IT. SO THANK YOU JACKIE FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE. AND ALSO THANK YOU TO CSEM FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE. CSM THEY DID WELL. SO MOVING ON TO MY NEXT TOPIC. WE DO HAVE A DISCLOSURE. UM, WE HAD, WE HAD A DISCLOSURE FOR, UM, THAT WE HAD TO DISCLOSE TO YOUR TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION AND TO A NAB CONCERNING A CSI TRAINEE THAT REPRODUCED AND PRESENTED A CASE FORM AS THE ORIGINAL, DESPITE INITIALLY CITED, THEY HAD SHREDDED IT. NOW, UM, THE CSI TRAINEE IS NO LONGER EMPLOYED BY HFSC SINCE THIS WAS A VIOLATION OF OUR, UM, CODE OF ETHICS. UM, IN ADDITION, WE ACTUALLY, WE HAD, WE ALSO HAD TO NOTIFY AND DISCLOSE TO THE HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY BECAUSE THIS TRAINEE LED AN ASSISTED 25 OTHER, UM, CRIME SCENES IN THAT CAPACITY. HOWEVER, ALL OF THOSE CRIME SCENES WERE COMPLETED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A FIELD, UM, FIELD TRAINING OFFICER. SO, JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, THE CRIME SCENE TRAINING PROGRAM IS DIVIDED IN TWO MAIN PHASE. THE INITIAL PHASE, I THINK DR. STAT TOUCHED A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT? IT'S THE THEORETICAL, THE PRACTICALS AND ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS TO GET THEM READY. WHAT THE KNOWLEDGE, THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, UM, WHERE THEY ARE, WHERE THEY HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY SUCCESSFULLY GATHERED ALL OF THIS KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS THEY HAVE TO, UM, SATISFACTORY COMPLETE SEVERAL COMPETENCIES IN ALL THEIR MODULES. NOW, FOR THE SECOND PHASE FOR THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM, THEY ARE EXPOSED TO A DIFFERENT PLETHORA OF CRIME SCENES AND DIFFERENT COMPLEXITIES ASSOCIATED TO THEM IN THE CAPACITY OF A LEAD OR AS AN ASSIST UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION OF A FIELD TRAINING OFFICER WHO IS AN AUTHORIZED CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR. AND THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS SECOND PORTION OF THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM IS OBVIOUSLY FOR THEM TO ACQUIRE MORE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, CRITICAL AND DECISION MAKING SKILLS BEFORE THEY'RE ALLOWED AND, YOU KNOW, AUTHORIZED TO, UM, DO INDEPENDENT CASE WORK. THE CSI TRAINEE WAS IN THAT FUNCTION IN THAT PART OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM. SO I DO WANNA NOTE THAT THEY HAVE A VERY ROBUST MONITORING AND REVIEW PROCESS INSTILLED IN THAT PROGRAM BECAUSE THE FORENSIC, UH, TRAINING OFFICER WAS ABLE TO, THEY WERE ABLE TO MONITOR AND RECOGNIZE THIS IMMEDIATELY. SO WE DO HAVE A FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 26TH. SO WE'RE TRYING TO WRAP UP THE REPORT INTO THE HOPES THAT IT'S ALSO ADDED TO THEIR AGENDA. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON? WELL, I THINK I'M JUST GONNA GO INTO THE TESTIMONY SINCE WE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN THAT AND GO OVER THE METRICS. , I'M KIND OF HAPPY THAT YOU COVERED ALMOST ALL THE QUESTIONS. WON'T LIE. SO FOR 2023, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 76 STAFF MEMBERS WHO TESTIFIED COLLECTIVELY 232 TIMES. UM, IT'S MY SECOND GRAPHIC. UM, AS I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE, WE HAVE AN INTERNAL INTERNAL MONITORING REQUIREMENT WHERE EVERY STAFF MEMBER WHO GOES AND TESTIFIES NEEDS TO BE MONITORED AT LEAST ONCE PER CALENDAR YEAR. UM, SO THIS GRAPHIC DENOTES THE PERCENTAGE OF FULFILLING OF PEOPLE MONITORED VERSUS UNMONITORED. UH, SO WE ARE AT 96%. WE DO HAVE, BUT AGAIN, WE HAD 77 PEOPLE TESTIFY. SO WE DO HAVE FOUR PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T GET, UNFORTUNATELY, DIDN'T GET MONITORED DURING THE YEAR, BUT WE ALREADY WORK WITH THEIR SECTIONS AND HAVE ALREADY REQUESTED THOSE TRANSCRIPTS FROM COURT. SO WE CAN MONITOR AND WE CAN CONCLUSIVELY CLOSE OUT THE 2023, UM, MONITORING OF THESE. UM, OTHER, OTHER TESTIMONIES IN ADDITION, I THINK THIS IS WHAT SOME, ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT WE, UM, THAT DR. STAT WAS TALKING, WE HAD FOR 2023, A TOTAL OF 997 HOURS SPENT IN COURT. AS YOU CAN SEE, 791 OF THOSE HOURS WERE THE IDLE TIME WAITING TO TESTIFY WITH 206 TIME OF ACTUAL TESTIMONY. CAN I JUST ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THAT? I SHOULD HAVE ASKED PETER. UH, WOULD IT WORK TO FIND VOLUNTEERS THAT COULD TAKE THE PLACE OF THAT ANALYST, WAIT AT THE COURTHOUSE AND BE THE PERSON THAT'S WAITING THERE, THEN WITHIN AN HOUR OF TESTIMONY, IF IT'S NEEDED, THEY CAN CALL THE ANALYST AND SAY, OKAY, YOU'RE GONNA BE ON IN AN HOUR. OR IF IT'S DISMISSED, LIKE JED HAD SAID, THEY CAN PASS THAT WORD ALONG SO THE ANALYSTS DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE. I DOUBT IT. UM, 'CAUSE REALLY CONTACTING IS NOT THE ISSUE. I MEAN AT, AT THE POINT THAT WE'RE TESTIFYING THE ATTORNEYS [00:55:01] USUALLY, I MEAN, IT'S A LOT OF TEXT. UM, SO THAT CONTACTING PART, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT AS MUCH IT, BUT HOW ABOUT SITTING THERE? I MEAN, IT IS NOT LIKE THEY HAVE TO, IT'S NOT LIKE WAITING IN LINE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT THEY HAVE TO BE QUEUED UP. UM, IT'S REALLY A MATTER OF IF YOU'VE HAD SOMEBODY THERE SITTING, WAITING, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE SOME INFORMATION THAT COULD GET COMMUNICATED EARLIER, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO GET THE EXPERT THERE. IT'S NOT LIKE SOMEBODY CAN ELSE CAN DO ANYTHING. TOTALLY AGREE. I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT IDLE TIME WHERE THEY'RE WAITING YEAH. THAT JED WAS TALKING ABOUT OR SOMEONE 15 MINUTES BEFORE. PROBABLY MORE THAN 15 I GUESS. BUT, UM, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOLUNTEERS TO STEP IN AND DO SOME THINGS THAT, UH, MAYBE SAVE YOU SOME TIME AND EFFORT. I JUST OFF OF THAT, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE IS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH MONITORING BECAUSE THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE SOME LOAD OFF. I DON'T KNOW, SOMETHING TO THINK ON. UNFOR, UNFORTUNATELY, AS FOR THE ACCREDITATION, THEY DO HAVE SOME SET REQUIREMENTS WHERE THE MONITOR ALSO HAS TO BE AUTHORIZED IN THAT SPECIFIC AREA THAT'S RIGHT. OF THE TESTIMONY BECAUSE NOT ONLY ARE THERE BEING EVALUATED AND THEIR NEUTRALITY AND THE WAY THEY PRESENT EVIDENCE, THEY'RE ALSO EVALUATED IN THE WAY THAT THEY EXPLAIN THE TECHNICAL PROCESSES TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE ARE ACCURATE. SURE. SO THAT'S, YES, I'M JUST PRIOR TO THIS REQUIREMENT, QUALITY HELPED OUT AND GOING AND MONITORING TESTIMONIES AS A WAY TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT TO THE SECTIONS. BUT WITH THIS NEW REQUIREMENT WE'RE WE CAN'T NOW ANOTHER OKAY, ANOTHER, I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT SEAT WARMING. YEAH. ANOTHER QUESTION THAT COMES UP FAIRLY REGULARLY IS WHAT ABOUT REMOTE TESTIMONY AND POST PANDEMIC? EVERYBODY'S MORE COMFORTABLE WITH REMOTE TESTIMONY ACTUALLY IN THE 87TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION. UM, I'VE WORKED A LOT, UH, ON A BILL THAT ULTIMATELY HELPED MAKE REMOTE TESTING REMOTE TESTIMONY MORE FEASIBLE AND ENCOURAGED. SO TEXAS HAS STATUTES ENCOURAGING THE USE OF REMOTE TESTIMONY, HOWEVER, IT'S STILL AT THE DISCRETION OF THE JUDGE. IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S GONNA BE A CONFRONTATION CLAUSE PROBLEM. RIGHT. AND THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S USUALLY WHAT IT ENDS UP IS A SIXTH AMENDMENT CONFRONTATION CLAUSE ISSUE. I MEAN, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT IN A HEARING, CIVIL PERSON PROCEED, THINGS LIKE THAT. CIVIL PROCEED, PROCEED. WELL, I MEAN, EVEN IN THE HEARING, MOST OF THE JUDGES ARE NOT, THEY'RE GONNA ASK THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY, DO YOU WANT THE WITNESS HERE? AND THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA GONNA SAY YES. RIGHT. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'VE GOT. IT, IT IT, LIKE I SAY, IT COMES UP REGULARLY OF WHY CAN'T WE DO REMOTE EXACTLY THAT. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT I WORKED WITH AT CHEVRON THAT HAVE RETIRED THAT ARE HIGHLY SKILLED AT DOING A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR INTERESTING THINGS TO DO. OH, WE CAN FIND 'EM INTERESTING THINGS TO DO. . WELL, AND THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. I THINK THERE'S REAL OPPORTUNITY TO UTILIZE SOME OF THE SKILLS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT, UH, THAT MIGHT LIGHTEN THE LOAD. YEP. SO, YEP. WE'LL BE TALKING MY 2 CENTS WORTH TODAY. THANK YOU. UM, I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT BEFORE I MOVE ON TO MY NEXT GRAPHIC IS THAT FOR THIS, IT'S JUST AS TIME SPENT IN COURT, THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE PRE-TRIAL MEETINGS, A TIME THAT TAKES TO PREPARE FOR A CASE, UM, AND OTHER, UM, PREPARATION INSTANCES. UM, BUT JUST GOING ALONG TO WHAT, WHAT DR. STOUT, UM, MENTIONED EARLIER, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE DO, WE SPLICED UP THE TIME SPENT IN COURT EFFECT BY SECTION. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, CRIME SCENE HAD AN OVERALL OF 300 HOURS OF IDLE TIME AT COURT. UM, THIS IS NOT INCLUDING THEIR TESTIMONY FOLLOWED BY FIREARMS AND THE BIOLOGY SECTION OF JACKIE. YES. WHEN YOU ALL ARE LOOKING FOR MONITORS, UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN CRITERIA FOR WHO CAN MONITOR, ARE YOU ALL LOOKING FOR WHETHER OR NOT THAT PERSON WILL ALREADY BE IN COURT AND ALREADY BE WAITING AND SO THEY MIGHT BE A BETTER CANDIDATE TO DO THAT? OR IS THAT NOT PART OF THE ANALYSIS? I'M SORRY, AGAIN, TO SAY YOU HAVE FIVE AVAILABLE INDIVIDUALS THAT COULD MONITOR A MEMBER FROM CSU IN THE PARTICULAR AREA THAT THEY'RE TESTIFYING AND THAT PERSON ALSO HAPPENS TO BE IN COURT SUBPOENAED UNDER ANOTHER CASE. BUT ARE YOU SEEING THAT THAT WOULD BE A BETTER CANDIDATE THAN SAY SOMEONE ELSE WHO ALSO COULD MONITOR, BUT THAT WOULD BE DOING CASE WORK BACK AT, UM, AT HFSC DURING THE DAY? SO, TRYING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS YEAR, UM, IS WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY REQUESTING THE TRANSCRIPTS IN ORDER TO MINI MITIGATE THE IMPACT SPECIFICALLY FOR CRIME SCENE. WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN THIS. SO, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM AND ALLOWING THEM TO DO THIS EVALUATION VIA TRANSCRIPT, ALTHOUGH IDEALLY IT WOULD BE IN PERSON, BUT AGAIN, IT TAKES UP THE TIME OF ANOTHER, UM, QUALIFIED CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR. WHAT, WHAT I OBSERVE JUST WATCHING PEOPLE IN AND OUT AND STUFF LIKE THAT. THEY'RE PRETTY GOOD ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHEN SOMEBODY ELSE FROM THAT PARTICULAR SECTION IS ALREADY GONNA BE OVER THERE AND TRYING TO DO THAT. [01:00:02] THE FATAL FLAW IN IT IS THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF ALL OF THIS MEANS IT'S REALLY TOUGH TO COORDINATE THAT. UM, AND , IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALMOST COMIC THAT WITH THE NUMBER OF SUBPOENAS THAT WE HAVE AT ANY POINT IN TIME, PROBABLY EVERYBODY IN THE BUILDING IS SUBPOENAED TO BE AT A CASE AT ANY POINT IN TIME. UM, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE NATURE OF WHAT IT IS. AND I, I DON'T HAVE IT IN THIS GRAPHIC, BUT WE DID HAVE AROUND 170 TI 79 HOURS FOR THE MONITORS. WE DID GO TO COURT AND, UM, AND MONITOR TESTIMONY. NOW FOR MY, WHEN I'M, THIS, MY NEXT SLIDE, I, I LIKE TO DO A TESTIMONY HOURS SIDE TO SIDE COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS YEARS TO SHOW THE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, UM, WE HAVE BEEN SPENDING ON COURT THIS YEAR. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE, WE, AS I MENTIONED IT, WE HAD 997 HOURS COMPARED TO 2022, WHERE COLLECTIVELY WE HAD 619 HOURS FROM TIME SPENT WAITING AND TIME ON THE STAND. NOW THE, ALL OF THIS DATA THAT I PRESENT EVERY OTHER MONTH TO THE COMPANY AND TO THE BOARD, MY TEAM HAS TO SPLICE AND DICE AND MANUALLY ANALYZE ALL OF THIS DATA BEFORE IT COULD BE TRANSFERRED OVER INTO ALL OF THIS NICE GRAPHICS. UM, SO WE SAW THE NEED FOR IT FOR A DASHBOARD TO HAVE THIS AVAILABLE REAL TIME AND NOT ONLY AVAILABLE FOR, FROM, UM, ALL THIS INFORMATION ONLY AVAILABLE FROM QUALITY. SO, UM, THE QUALITY DIVISION, SPECIFICALLY ONE OF THE QUALITY SPECIALISTS, MS. STEFAN GALLO, UM, PAIRED UP WITH THE LSS DEVELOPMENTAL GROUP DEVELOPMENT GROUP AND THEY CREATED A DASHBOARD THAT WAS JUST RELEASED, UM, THIS LAST DECEMBER. AND THIS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ALL A-H-F-F-C STAFF. SO AS YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, THE SAME GRAPHICS THAT I TYPICALLY, UM, PRESENT ON, UH, TIME ON THE STAND VERSUS WAITING WHO HAS BEEN MONITORED AND WHO HASN'T. SO THIS IS A GREAT FUNCTION FOR SUPERVISORS TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS REAL TIME. UM, WE ALSO HAVE, AGAIN, THE, THE TIME WAITING SPLICE BY SECTION AND WE ARE ALSO EVEN ABLE TO SEE NOW THE MONITORS TIME BY SECTION AS WELL. SOMETHING NEW THAT IT'S, THAT WE CAN ALSO SEE IS, AND I'M GONNA, I WANNA FOCUS ON THAT IS THE TESTIMONY BY EAR. SO NOT ONLY ARE WE SPENDING MORE TIME IN COURT, WE'RE ALSO APPEARING MORE IN COURT. THAT IS PROPORTIONAL. UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD A 65% INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR. LAST YEAR WE HAD 141 TIMES. WE TESTIFIED THAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS TESTIFIED COMPARED TO THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS 232 TIMES. UM, LSS AND QUALITY ALSO TEAMED UP WITH CSEM AND OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO INCORPORATE OTHER DATA THAT THEY MAINTAINED. SO THIS DASHBOARD CAN ALSO GIVE YOU THE NUMBER OF SUBPOENAS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED VERSUS TESTIMONY TIME. YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE HOW MANY TIMES YOU WERE SUBPOENAED FOR ONE'S CASE. AND ALSO ANALYSTS HAVE ACCESS TO THIS TO DOWNLOAD DIRECT REPORTS OF ALL OF THE COURTS THAT THEY HAVE TESTIFIED IN CASE THEY'RE ASKED TO PROVIDE THIS DOCUMENTATION FOR COURT PURPOSES. SO, AND WITH THAT I CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? ONE THING THAT I JUST EMPHASIZE THAT THREE MORE COURTS COME ONLINE THIS YEAR. YES, THREE MORE COURTS NEXT YEAR. SO THAT GRAPH OF HOW MANY TIMES WE'RE TESTIFYING A YEAR, EVERYTHING POINTS AT IT'S JUST GOING TO GO UP. SO WE GOTTA PLAN FOR AND ENGINEER FOR HOW WE DEAL WITH THIS. ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT WORK. THANK YOU. OKAY, THIS MOVES US TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE. THIS IS ADJOURNMENT. I KNOW THIS IS EVERYONE'S FAVORITE AGENDA ITEM. UM, IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? ? IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? I ASSUME IT'S GONNA BE OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, ATTENDING TODAY'S MEETING. UH, AND AGAIN, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WE'LL SEE YOU AT OUR NEXT MEETING IN MARCH. * 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.