Bill Text: NJ A1306 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires data collection and issuance of report on drug evidence testing by New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-17 - Reported and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee [A1306 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1306-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires data collection and issuance of report on drug evidence testing by New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning drug evidence testing and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Superintendent of State Police shall conduct a six month study on the collection, recording, and analysis of data on specimens collected by law enforcement which may contain a controlled dangerous substance or a controlled substance analog, as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2.
b. The superintendent shall direct the Office of Forensic Sciences to record the following information for each specimen:
(1) The name of the agency and location where the specimen was obtained;
(2) Whether a drug field test was performed on the specimen and, if so, the result of the drug field test; the type of drug field test used; and the name and manufacturer of the drug field test;
(3) Whether the specimen was analyzed in an Office of Forensic Sciences Laboratory;
(4) For any specimen that was both drug field tested and analyzed in an Office of Forensic Sciences Laboratory, whether the laboratory test indicates an erroneous drug field test result; and the amount of time that elapsed between the drug field test and the laboratory test; and
(5) Whether the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences Laboratory test was expedited and the reason for expediting the test.
c. Within 90 days following the date on which the six-month period of data collection ends, the Office of Forensic Sciences shall issue a report to the Legislature analyzing the data collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) A summary of the data collected;
(2) The incidence of false positive drug field test results;
(3) Whether there appear to be any trends related to the incidence of false positive drug field test results based on the type of drug field test used, the location of the drug field test, or any other information concerning the specimens.
For the purposes of this section, "specimen" shall refer to a substance or sample of a substance which may contain a controlled dangerous substance or a controlled substance analog as defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2 that is taken by law enforcement during an investigation of a potential violation of any section of chapter 35 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences to collect data for six months and issue a report on evidence used in prosecuting certain drug-related crimes.
Specimens taken by law enforcement during the investigation of a drug-related crime are sent to forensic laboratories for testing, including four New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences laboratories, as well as county forensic laboratories. In some cases, presumptive drug field tests are performed by officers. There have been reports of cases being disposed of following a presumptive drug field test without undergoing confirmatory testing in one of the forensic laboratories.
Various news reports suggest that reliance solely on drug field testing could lead to wrongful incarceration. However, data concerning the reliability of drug field tests in New Jersey which would confirm or deny this claim is currently unavailable.
This bill provides for the collection of data and the issuance of a report 90 days after the data collection ends concerning the usage and reliability of drug field tests in New Jersey. The term "specimen" is defined under the bill as a substance or sample of a substance which may contain a controlled dangerous substance or a controlled substance analog that is taken by a law enforcement officer investigating a potential violation of this State's law governing controlled dangerous substances.
