NCJ Number
218691
Date Published
July 2004
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Utilizing a large public State forensic laboratory system in the northeastern United States, this study examined turnover and retention issues related to forensic scientists.
Abstract
The alternate staffing model proposed to save money proved to be unsuccessful. Turnover costs exceeded the projected savings. The original staffing model that proposed forensic scientists in all positions could have been used to strengthen the organization. Instead, the early departure of essential personnel attributable to the alternate staffing strategy served to weaken the organization. A number of factors are related to the cause of voluntary turnover that have an effect on retention rates. Salaries and compensation, job design, social ties, and location have been linked to employee retention. In the organization studied, interventions included upgrading forensic science positions to be competitive with other public agencies and private laboratories. Existing laboratory technicians should be reclassified to forensic science positions, and the lowest position in the career ladder should be eliminated. Future research needs to explain the needs of technical workers in order to understand and reduce turnover and improve retention. New methods and instrumentation for the biological sciences have created unprecedented opportunities to collect and examine criminal evidence. This has created backlogs in forensic laboratories, particularly in DNA analyses. The need for an adequate supply of trained forensic scientists to perform these analyses has been a challenge. Little attention is devoted to retention issues in forensic organizations. This article documents the difficulty that one large State crime laboratory system had retaining newly hired forensic scientists. A new staffing model was created to offset a DNA-case backlog; the organization hired technicians to provide technical support for more highly skilled scientists. Tables, references