Since 1996, the City has contracted with the County for forensic services.  The Orange County Crime Lab provides these services and is the only local forensic lab that can provide all the forensic services required by the City of Garden Grove. Historically, we have had five year agreements with the County of Orange.  Fiscal Year 2016-17 was the first year of our current contract, and Fiscal Year 2018-19 will be the third year of this five year agreement.

To summarize our Fiscal Year 2018-19 contract with the Orange County Crime Lab, the City is paying for the following level of service:

• One (1) Lead Forensic Specialist   (2096 Hours)

• One (1) Forensic Scientist III          (2096 Hours)

• One (1) Forensic Specialist            (2096 Hours)

• Aggregate Overtime

The County reimburses the City for the cost of all unused overtime.  The Crime Lab provides all supplies and processing directly related to services performed by their personnel under the terms of this agreement.

The current contract agreement with the County of Orange for forensic services expires on June 30, 2018. As recommended by the Police Department and pursuant to Garden Grove Municipal Code Section 2.50.060(D), the Finance Director has determined that the County of Orange is the only provider of forensic services available.

DNA is leading technology for gathering forensic evidence and solving crimes. Having a Forensic Scientist assigned to Garden Grove for DNA casework has dramatically reduced the time to obtain Crime Lab results, which has made the Detective Unit more effective. The Police Department is very satisfied with the level of service from the Sheriff's Crime Lab.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Approve the amendment to the agreement with the County of Orange to provide forensics services to the City, in the amount of $516,785, for Fiscal Year 2018-19; and

• Authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the City.

By: Lieutenant Bill Allison,     Support Services Bureau, Investigations