WHO PAYS? LAB FUNDING MISUNDERSTOOD

Misconceptions still exist about how the region's only crime lab is funded, the lab's director said last week.

Rising crime rates in area over the past 20 years have increased the number of cases handled by the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab, and also increased the importance of the lab for area law enforcement agencies.

Despite the increased visibility of the lab, Director Dr. Robert Briner said that many people, including local government officials, often misunderstand the source of the lab's funding.

Currently, the Cape Girardeau lab serves law enforcement agencies in 21 counties in the region, providing the agencies with analysis, crime scene assistance, training on evidence handling and expert courtroom testimony.

Nearly 3,700 cases were handled by the lab last year, an increase of nearly 10 percent over 1996 and more than 230 percent since 1978.

Still, because the lab is located on the Southeast Missouri State University campus and the staff is paid through the university, people mistakenly assume that the lab is funded most through university money, Briner said.

"But the only thing the university provides is the building and some maintenance and janitorial help," he said.

Because the lab is not considered integral to the university, money for the its operational expenses -- including the salaries of Briner and the technical staff -- must be raised by the lab itself.

The lab, which began operation in September 1969 under the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, was originally funded by federal money. Much of the lab's initial equipment was purchased through these funds.

Over a period of 10 years, the lab became virtually self-supporting. Nearly 56 percent of current operating dollars come from city and county governments. The remaining 44 percent comes from a combination of state and victim assistance funds and fees charged to nonmember agencies for services, Briner said.

There is no set formula for charging cities and counties in the area, but rather the local governments are asked to give a certain amount each year based on a number of factors. Originally, fees were charged simply on the basis of population. Now other factors -- such as the number of cases a community brings to the lab in a year and the ability of the community to pay -- figure in to what the lab asks.

The community giving the most last year was Cape Girardeau, which paid the lab $30,000 for its services. Sikeston was second with $20,000. Cape Girardeau County ranked third with a $15,000 payment, St. Francois County was fourth with $8,000, and Butler County fifth with $7,200.

Rounding out the top ten were New Madrid County at $6,200; Poplar Bluff, $6,000; Kennett, $5,000; and Dunklin County and Dexter, $4,500 each.

Cities and counties are not charged per case, but on a "fee for service" basis because the lab officials did not want criminal investigations to be controlled by city or county treasurers, Briner said.

"We didn't want police to check with the comptroller before bringing a case in. That's why we didn't go to a fee per case," Briner said.

If the lab charged by the case, then police might be forced to decide whether they could afford to take a case to the lab for analysis. They might decide a case was too insignificant to spend money on.

"But seemingly insignificant cases sometimes lead to something bigger," Briner said.

One case in which a bullet fired harmlessly into a vacant building was discovered to have been fired from the same gun used in an area homicide, he recalled.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle attributed some of his office's efficiency to the regional lab.

"This county is one of the fastest in the state at getting people to trial, which is efficient economically because it means less time that prisoners spend in county jail and a better quality of trial," Swingle said.

"One of the reasons is the speed of the lab. Because of them, we are able to move cases more quickly," he said.

Swingle added that the lab personnel are always willing to go to a crime scene, even in the middle of the night, to help with cases.

"They act totally independent of law enforcement," Swingle said. "They call it as it is. For them it's a matter of science, which is good. It helps the truth come out."