LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As Kentucky State Police continues to suffer from a backlog inside its forensic labs, a new proposal from Mayor Linda Gorton may help alleviate some of the delays for crime victims and their families.
In January, KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. spoke at a Kentucky Senate committee hearing to discuss the current state of the backlog, which he credited to an increase in case volume, alongside trouble recruiting and retaining forensic scientists.
He said that in 2023, the average turnaround time for violent crimes testing was 9 months, while the average turnaround time for sexual assault DNA evidence was 13 months.
A mother's perspective
Priscilla Sandifer reached a devastating milestone this week. Tuesday, May 7, marked two years since her daughter, 20-year-old Amaya Sandifer, has been shot and killed while dropping off friends near Green Acres Park in Lexington.
The gunman has still not been identified, and the evidence in her daughter's case remains waiting to be processed by the state forensic labs.
"There are people out there who know what happened, who's responsible, who was there," Sandifer said.
She's hopeful the labs will be able to find evidence that could change the course of the case but added that waiting for the state labs is difficult.
"As each day passes, you can begin to become a little discouraged," she said.
She added that Lexington detectives on the case hope they will be able to send the evidence in her case to a private lab to speed up the search for answers.
"Regarding the homicide investigation of Amaya Taylor-Sandifer, KSP has received several pieces of evidence that must be examined by the laboratory, and due to the complexity required, it is still being analyzed. We remain focused on assisting in obtaining justice for the victim and their family," KSP told LEX 18 in a statement.
A problem of pay
In Kentucky, the starting salary for an analyst within forensic labs is $44,100, ranking 47th in the entire nation.
"The demand for highly skilled and knowledgeable forensic scientists has risen significantly," Burnett said during his January testimony.
Bordering states have starting salaries as much as $20,000 more for similar positions.
In West Virginia, starting pay is $57,530. In Ohio, starting pay is $60,528. And in Tennessee, starting pay is $66,096.
A salary increase in Kentucky to recruit more lab staff would require action by the state legislature.
"Their salary is a big part of why they're so far behind," Sandifer said.
Burnett told a Senate committee roughly 90% of people who leave the lab staff credit pay as a reason for leaving. As of January, he said the biology section of the central laboratory in Frankfort was operating at just 58% of its personnel capacity.
Lexington mayor's response: Private labs
In her annual budget proposal, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton included $150,000 for private DNA testing.
"This will serve crime victims and their families by delivering justice at a much faster pace. Dedicated funding for private DNA testing will decrease the time it takes to process DNA evidence results from years to weeks," Gorton said in her address to the Urban County Council in April.
In response to the mayor's proposal, the Lexington Police Department shared this statement with LEX 18:
"A partnership with a private DNA laboratory would help strengthen evidence-processing efforts and, hopefully, expedite DNA results. In some cases, such a partnership could help investigators quickly bring justice to violent crime victims and their families. Working with a private laboratory would just be one tool that investigators could use, and we will continue to work with our partners at KSP to provide DNA analysis for investigations.
We want to thank the Mayor and her staff for recognizing the importance of enhancing investigative tools and partnerships and placing the funding in the proposed budget."
Sandifer is hopeful that whether it comes from pay increases at the state level or local police departments, finding other avenues to expedite the process of getting justice for Amaya and for others.
"That is definitely going to be a big plus in getting answers to Amaya's case and other families," Sandifer said of the mayor's proposed budget.
The budget is currently being reviewed by council members, who will vote on a final version in the coming months.
