In September 2020 the Crime Laboratory received its new LCMS instrument. The validation process of the LCMS has not begun due to City purchasing polices that have created numerous barriers and obstacles to the procurement of a Nitrogen generator and the consumable supplies that are necessary for the validation process. City Purchasing seems uncaring of the Crime Laboratory’s concerns, and unresponsive to our requests for assistance; therefore, the Crime Laboratory has reached out to the Police Department’s Assistant Director of Finance Christianne Kellett and asked for assistance in dealing with City Purchasing so that the necessary items can be purchased. It should be noted that there are tangible negative consequences for delaying the validation process. The Crime Laboratory spends approximately $5,498.00 per month to outsource THC cases
The Crime Laboratory has reviewed the original Qiacube validation reports and it was determined that further evaluation was required. Qiagen personnel responded to the Crime Laboratory multiple times in July 2020 to perform additional testing and to complete repairs on the Qiacubes, and the EZ1 instrument. The Biology Unit reviewed the new validation report, and after discussions with Qiagen personnel everyone agreed that additional work was necessary. Due to travel restrictions, the earliest that Qiagen personnel can respond to the Laboratory and conduct additional validation testing will be March 2021.
The Crime Laboratory has changed its instrument procurement plan for the Chemistry Unit. The Laboratory has funding in fiscal year 2021 to purchase one new GCMS to replace an aging GCMS instrument and two FTIRs to replace two aging FTIR instruments. The Crime Laboratory now plans to use its funding to purchase one LCMS and one FTIR.