Attorney General Bonta Announces Securing $3 Million Grant to DOJ’S Toxicology Program to Help Keep California Roadways Safe, Bring Drunk Drivers to Justice

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) Toxicology Program was awarded a $3 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to improve toxicology testing for drug impaired driving statewide. BFS’s Toxicology Program will use the funding to analyze blood and urine samples taken from drivers suspected of driving under the influence (DUI), critical work that helps law enforcement agencies bring perpetrators to justice and aims to reduce the number of people hurt or killed in traffic crashes.

“I am very proud of the important work carried out by our Bureau of Forensic Services. This ongoing work will be bolstered thanks to a $3 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As a part of its critical work, our Bureau of Forensic Services provides high-quality and affordable forensic toxicology services to counties all over California that do not have their own laboratories. The California Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that no matter where you live in California, everyone has equal access to forensic services in the justice system. We thank the Office of Traffic Safety for buoying this commitment.”

BFS is the scientific arm of the Attorney General’s Office whose mission is to serve the people of California on behalf of the Attorney General's Office. Forensic scientists collect, analyze, and compare physical evidence from suspected crimes. They provide analysis of evidence in toxicology: including alcohol, controlled substances and clandestine drug labs; biology and DNA; firearms; impression evidence such as shoeprints, tire marks, or fingerprints; trace evidence including hair, fibers, and paint; and crime-scene analysis of blood spatter patterns and evidence collection. They also testify in state and federal court cases about their analyses in criminal trials.

The BFS regional lab system was established in 1972 to provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies that did not have access to local crime laboratory services. Today, the BFS system serves 46 of the state's 58 counties and operates 10 regional laboratories (Eureka, Santa Rosa, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Central Valley, Fresno, Freedom, Santa Barbara, Riverside) and a Toxicology Laboratory in Sacramento.

Additionally, several BFS labs focus on DNA by analyzing biological evidence seized by law enforcement in criminal cases: Central Valley, Fresno, Redding, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and the Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory in Richmond. The Jan Bashinski Laboratory in Richmond conducts research to advance DNA typing and coordinates the development of statewide standards on forensic DNA analysis. The laboratory has established CAL-DNA, a computerized DNA identification data bank to which evidence analysis results can be compared to identify unknown offenders. This database works in conjunction with the National DNA Index System (NDIS) as part of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).