Program may reduce pre-jail stay of drug offenders

By KRYSTAL DE LOS SANTOS McKinney Courier-Gazette

The Collin County District Attorney recommended to commissioners Tuesday they start a "pilot program" to reimburse cities for drug analysis if they use a local laboratory that will get results more quickly and reduce the amount of time the inmate waits in jail.

Sheriff Terry Box said that the county is wasting money housing the drug offenders while they await trial, which cannot start until the District Attorney's office has proof that the substance they are charged with possessing or distributing is actually a drug.

"That's been one of our biggest problems," Box said "The drug tests are taking too long, while the inmate sits in jail taking up space."

Housing an inmate costs the count $69 a day when including indirect costs like salaries, or just more than $40 a day directly.

District Attorney John Roach said that city law enforcement officials are using the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory, which takes weeks or in some cases months to return results for their drug analysis.

The Texas DPS provides the service free of charge, but is much slower than a local laboratory.

Roach said the average amount of time it takes for the county to start a case against an offender in possession of a substance is 102 days, while the average for other offenders is 42 days.

"That shows you how big that gap is," Roach said.

The 49 offenders awaiting lab results who are currently housed in the Collin County Detention Center have been in jail for 3,273 days total. At $40 a day, those inmates have cost the county $130,920. At $69 a day, they've cost taxpayers $225,837.

Roach said that he is working on a pilot program to urge the cities to use the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas, which can have results in 7 to 10 days.

However, the private lab charges $125 per sample for its services, which cities will not be willing to pay, Roach said, unless they receive reimbursement from the county.

"The city of Plano doesn't want to pay that $125 when they can get it for free," Roach said.

The pilot program will examine whether reimbursement is cheaper for the county than housing the inmates while awaiting results from the DPS lab in Austin.

"This is just to see how fast we can get it done and whether it will work or not," Roach said. "We may find out it's a better deal."

He added that the county also may consider starting its own toxicology lab, rather than relying on private services or less efficient public services like the DPS lab.

The commissioners encouraged Roach to continue developing the program.

Jerry Hoagland expressed confidence in Roach's idea.

"I think it would be worthwhile to pay that instead of that $40 a day," he said.

Contact Krystal De Los Santos at krystal.delossantos@scntx.com