The Illinois State Police (ISP) faced an enormous number of forensic test backlogs in 2019. At one point, the number had reached 21,000 tests, with about 5,000 of those DNA tests.

The backlog meant investigators, prosecutors, accused criminals and crime victims were waiting to find out the results of tests that could positively identify a criminal or provide evidence they are innocent.

The state police announced in 2019 that they intended to address the issue. But it didn’t involve a huge increase in manpower or equipment. Instead, much of it involved using the process improvement techniques of Lean Six Sigma.

Recently, the News-Gazette in Champagne, Ill., ran an editorial congratulating the police on the success of the program. “The people of Illinois were rightly disturbed by reports of the backlog that made big news in early 2019,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote. “It’s good to see their concerns allayed by the state’s energetic and effective response to this serious problem.”

State Police Find Success Using Lean

Gov. JB Pritzker and State Police Director Brendan Kelly announced the use of Lean Six Sigma in state police labs in early 2019. Pritzker made increasing forensic lab efficiency a priority in his campaign for governor.

Illinois has the largest and busiest forensic lab system in the country. The six labs in the system employ about 500 forensic works and handle more than 70,000 assignments every year.

The backlog of more than 21,000 forensic tests created some terrifying situations. For example, CBS Chicago reported that the backlog in DNA tests could be hindering police from identifying a potential serial killer who was strangled his victims.

But by implementing Lean in the labs, ISP has drastically cut down the number of backlogged cases. The improvements include the following.

  • A 48% reduction in the backlog of DNA tests, from 9,289 on March 1, 2019, to 4,857 on Nov. 30, 2020
  • The average wait time on DNA tests dropped from 247 days in May 2019 to 110 days in November 2020
  • The number of more than six months old sexual assault assignments dropped from 1,059 to 280 between in January and November 2020
  • The DNA/Biology section completed 22% more assignments per month in 2020 than it did in 2019
  • Fingerprint test backlog dropped 78% since January 2019. The average turnaround time for fingerprints has dropped 62% since 2019.
  • The average turnaround time for firearms evidence tests dropped 44% since 2019
  • The lab’s trace chemistry section completed 49% more assignments in 2020 as compared to 2019

How The Lab Used Process Improvement

In a press release about the improvements, Pritzker and Kelly offered a variety of reasons that fueled the changes. Among them were automating some processes through the use of robotics and training additional forensic scientists.

But the bulk of the release focused on process improvement. One area involved eliminating wasted time on unneeded tests. For example, the state police found 1,200 felony drug cases that had already been closed in the court, but still showed up as a pending case.

By improving communication with investigating agencies and the state’s attorney’s office on these issues, “resources are not squandered” on tests that are no longer needed, according to the press release. State leaders also credited implementing Lean tactics in greatly “removing unnecessary steps and reducing variation.”

The state also has implemented seven of 14 recommendations from an outside consultant that specializes in Lean to increase efficiency around the state police’s many duties involving firearms regulations, including the work needed to issue concealed carry permits. The state police’s Firearms Services Bureau (FSB) handles this work.

The FSB went on to process more than 67,000 incoming records in 2020 even as demand for its services reached a record high.

“For more than a decade, trends in forensic labs across the country, including in Illinois, have been headed the wrong direction,” Kelly said in the news release. “But because of the hard work and discipline of the Illinois State Police we are finally headed in the right direction in Illinois.”