Should Memphis build its own crime lab or wait on TBI staffing and pay reforms?
The MNPD lab employs 61 people and costs Nashville taxpayers $8 million a year including salaries and benefits. A technician works with a sample at the lab. (courtesy Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
In partnership with
The Institute for Public Service Reporting
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
As the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation seeks millions of dollars to boost pay and fill crime lab staffing shortages, Memphis leaders look for answers in Nashville, Houston and other cities that built their own crime labs.
Related story:
A tale of two cities: How Nashville built the crime lab that Memphis couldn’t
Topics
MPD TBI crime labIn partnership with
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
Marc Perrusquia
Marc Perrusquia is the director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis, where graduate students learn investigative and explanatory journalism skills working alongside professionals. He's won numerous state and national awards for government watchdog, social justice and political reporting. Follow the Institute on Facebook or Twitter @psr_memphis.
Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
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