Police Chief Harold Hurtt said today that he anticipates Houston’s crime lab will be accredited within 90 days, according to AP coverage posted by KTRK-13:
“I don’t think there will probably be another crime lab in the country that has gone through so many audits and changes and improvements as the Houston crime lab has been through,” Hurtt said. “And hopefully these efforts will again put us in a position where people will come through Houston and say, ‘How did you do it?’ Because we are not the only crime lab in the country that is experiencing problems.”
State Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, remained skeptical. He said the state needs to oversee troubled crime labs in Houston and Fort Worth.
“I’m sure that they expect to be accredited within 90 days, but I’m not sure if I expect it,” he said of the Houston lab. “After two years of watching them fumble the ball everywhere they go, nothing would surprise me at this point. I don’t have a lot of confidence in their operation.”
The Houston lab wants to become accredited in biology, exclusive of DNA; toxicology; controlled substances; firearms; and document examination.
As a complete aside, Chief Hurtt looked very dapper in his new HPD uniform during the press conference excerpts shown on television earlier.
