By Patti Dozier
August 15, 2008 12:20 am
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THOMASVILLE — Georgia coroners will meet later this month in an attempt to head off closings of Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) crime labs.
The Moultrie crime lab is among three statewide on the state government’s hit list.
“We’re going to discuss these closings and formulate a plan to try to keep them,” said Sam Brown, Thomas County coroner and at-large state director of the Georgia Coroners Association.
Colquitt County Sheriff Al Whittington recently lambasted the idea of closing the Moultrie lab, saying that public safety is at stake in the issue.
The coroners group will meet Tuesday, Aug. 26, in Macon.
Brown, a former association president, said the Moultrie lab serves 27 counties.
The Moultrie facility has not had a medical examiner in more than a year, necessitating Thomas County autopsies to be done at the main crime lab in Atlanta.
Brown, coroner since 1980, said 25 to 30 Thomas County autopsies are done at the Atlanta facility annually. Each trip costs taxpayers about $800.
The Moultrie crime lab serves all aspects of public safety, including law enforcement and courts, Brown said.
The medical examiner post at the Moultrie lab will not be filled, said John Bankhead, GBI spokesman.
Georgia is experiencing a shortfall of more than $1 billion in revenue. Gov. Sony Perdue has called for a number of money-saving measures. Closings of crimes labs at Moultrie, Columbus and Summerville are among them.
Bankhead said the current proposal is for Moultrie and Columbus labs to close next year during the state’s fiscal 2010, which begins July 1, 2009. The Summerville lab has already closed.
“That’s just a proposal,” Bankhead explained.
Georgia has seven regional crime labs, in addition to the main Atlanta lab. Whether the labs actually close depends on state revenue collections.
If the closings are part of the budget proposed by the governor to the 2009 Georgia General Assembly and legislators approve the budget, the facilities will close.
Thomas County Sheriff’s Office personnel make weekly trips to the Moultrie lab to transport evidence for testing.
“It’s going to hurt us,” said Pascal Autrey, sheriff’s office investigator. Fewer crime labs will add to the appreciable backlog the facilities already face, he added.
“It’s not going to be good for us or as efficient,” Autrey said.
The GBI investigative division, including the regional GBI office in Thomasville, also is seeing cutbacks.
New vehicles will not be purchased, along with a clampdown on travel. A hiring freeze is under way, and temporary staff at the Georgia Crime Information Center has been terminated.
GBI agents are not traveling to out-of-state meetings and are carpooling to training sessions.
Bankhead said other cuts are possible in the investigative division. GBI officials are trying to ensure that the main Atlanta lab and regional offices are not affected.
“We’re hoping,” Bankhead said.
The 21-year GBI spokesman said he has witnessed other state revenue shortfalls, but this one is the worst.
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