Cost/Benefit Analysis of Case Management Policies in a DUI Lab

Area of Science:

• Forensic Toxicology
• Criminal Justice

Background:

• Under-reporting of drugs in driving under the influence (DUI) cases has been previously studied.
• A prior study assessed the impact of not reporting drugs in DUI cases using a blood drug screen (BDS) protocol.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate a larger dataset for evaluating the impact of drug reporting in DUI cases.
• To compare findings with a previous study on DUI drug under-reporting.
• To conduct a cost analysis of implementing universal BDS in DUI cases.

Main Methods:

• A follow-up study analyzed 576 DUI cases.
• The laboratory protocol was modified to include BDS for all felony cases and misdemeanor cases with BAC < 0.15 g/dL.
• A cost analysis compared BDS materials cost and analyst time to BAC testing.

Main Results:

• Blood drug screens (BDS) cost 30 times more in materials and required six times more analyst time than blood alcohol concentration (BAC) tests.
• Implementing universal BDS would increase material costs by 218% and analyst time by 193% compared to the old protocol.
• In most cases with BAC > 0.08 g/dL, detected drugs were not significant for supporting a DUI charge.

Conclusions:

• Extensive drug analysis via BDS is insufficient justification for all DUI cases.
• The substantial increase in cost and time for BDS is not warranted for the majority of DUI cases.
• Detected drugs in most DUI cases with BAC > 0.08 g/dL do not significantly impact case outcomes.