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Grant Application - North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program - Union County Sheriff's Office Toxicology Lab Expansion
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dorothy Thomas, Sheriff's Office, Public Safety Finance Administrator, 704-283-3578
ACTION REQUESTED:
Authorize the County Manager to submit the associated grant application and make necessary assurances and certifications associated with the grant application as substantially consistent with this agenda item.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
The Union County Sheriff's Office is eligible to receive a grant from the North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program. Union County Sheriff's Office will receive funding for two (2) positions for the Union County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab (Crime Lab). There is no match for the grant.
With the Crime Lab's expansion of toxicology services to law enforcement agencies in surrounding counties, there will be an increase for blood alcohol and blood drug kits in connection with Driving While Impaired (DWI) detection. This expansion will allow law enforcement agencies in neighboring jurisdictions to send blood alcohol and blood drug kits to the Crime Lab for testing. The Governor's Highway Safety Program's grant would provide funding for the addition of one (1) Lead Forensic Chemist, UC Pay Grade O, and one (1) Forensic Chemist I, Pay Grade M. The additional FTEs will create opportunities to not only increase the current caseloads but, also, decrease processing times associated with the processing of these kits. By alleviating any existing blood toxicology backlogs and reducing the amount of time between submission and processing, the judicial system will be in a position to move the related cases thro ugh the court process in a timely manner, eliminating speedy trial issues and the dismissals that can result from the types of delays that are experienced when relying on the NC State Crime Lab. The opportunity for an expedited process will lead to antici...
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