Phoenix crime lab reports about 300 sexual-assault kits pending; councilors press on prioritization and staffing

Assistant Director Jodi Wolfe and newly promoted lab administrator Ben Swanholm briefed the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee on March 4 on the Phoenix Police Department Laboratory Services Bureau’s capabilities, staffing and caseloads.

Ben Swanholm said the bureau issues roughly 22,000 laboratory reports annually from about 67,000 evidence items and is accredited to ISO 17025 standards. He told the subcommittee the lab has 170 authorized positions and about 10 current vacancies. "We have roughly 10 vacancies currently in combination from multiple different sections throughout the laboratory," Swanholm said.

Swanholm and Wolfe outlined the lab’s sections — toxicology, controlled substances, evidence screening and latent-print comparison, forensic DNA, firearms/NIBIN and trace/debris — and described new and rapid DNA tools the lab uses for investigative purposes.

On the sexual-assault-kit backlog, Swanholm said the total pending at the end of February was about 300, with roughly 223 of those kits being processed by external vendor laboratories. "The graph that's showing there is the end year totals of what was pending in the backlog. So at the end of February the number was 300," he said. The lab described internal versus contractor processing and said contractors have up to 90 days to return results, after which internal staff need roughly 30–60 days to finalize reports depending on workload.

Council members pressed for additional detail. Councilwoman Ann O'Brien asked whether gunshot-residue testing is still performed locally; a lab representative said Phoenix is one of the few U.S. laboratories that still conducts gunshot-residue testing and the only laboratory in Arizona that does so. O'Brien also asked whether the backlog figure included 2026 data; the lab confirmed the 300 number was the count at the end of February and that more recent 2026 numbers were not reflected in that slide.

On staffing and turnover, the lab said its turnover rate averages about 10% and acknowledged that some disciplines have higher turnover than others. Swanholm said the lab is using grant funding and council support to reduce backlogs and improve operations; specifics on grant amounts and timelines were not provided during the presentation.

The bureau also described case-management practices intended to prioritize evidence based on investigative needs, arrests and court deadlines. When asked how cases are prioritized, Swanholm summarized: cases are triaged by circumstances, with arrested persons and court-necessary items prioritized.

The presentation closed with the lab’s national accreditation and recognition for establishing forensic standards, a description of employee-wellness efforts used to support staff exposed to vicarious trauma, and a lighter note introducing Beaker, a therapy dog that works with staff.

The subcommittee took no formal action on lab operations beyond approving the prior meeting minutes earlier in the session; members asked for follow-up information about vacancies, turnover metrics, and more recent backlog counts.