Question reference: S3W-39819
- Asked by: John Farquhar Munro, MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 23 February 2011
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Current status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 March 2011
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average length of time it takes the Scottish Police Service to undertake a toxicology report.
Answer
The processing time for toxicology analysis carried out by the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) on behalf of Scotland''s police forces varies from case to case, and depends on a number of factors. These include whether the analysis is for criminal investigations or post-mortem cases, the level of screening required and the range of substances identified from a sample.
The SPSA has provided average turnaround times for toxicology cases for the calendar year 2010. These are:
Post-mortem - 88 days from receipt at the SPSA laboratory to final report
Criminal cases (excluding drink driving) - 80 days
Criminal cases (drink driving) - 19 days.
As part of an ongoing modernisation programme at SPSA, the authority is reviewing all of its standard operation procedures and staff ratios in all disciplines and this will have a positive impact on the time taken for key analysis work.