California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services (BFS) Toxicology Program has received a $3 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The funding is intended to improve toxicology testing for drug-impaired driving across the state.
The BFS Toxicology Program will use this grant to analyze blood and urine samples from drivers suspected of driving under the influence. This analysis supports law enforcement in bringing offenders to justice and aims to reduce injuries and fatalities resulting from traffic incidents.
Attorney General Bonta stated, “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. 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.”
The Bureau serves as the scientific division within the Attorney General’s Office, supporting investigations by collecting, analyzing, and comparing physical evidence related to suspected crimes. Its areas of analysis include toxicology (such as alcohol and controlled substances), biology and DNA, firearms, impression evidence like shoeprints or fingerprints, trace evidence including hair or fibers, as well as crime scene analysis.
Established in 1972, the BFS regional lab system was created to assist local law enforcement agencies lacking their own crime laboratory services. Currently, it serves 46 out of California’s 58 counties through ten regional labs located in Eureka, Santa Rosa, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Central Valley, Fresno, Freedom, Santa Barbara, Riverside; and operates a dedicated Toxicology Laboratory in Sacramento.
Several BFS labs specialize in DNA analysis using biological evidence collected by law enforcement agencies. Facilities focusing on this work are located in Central Valley, Fresno, Redding, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Barbara; with research and statewide standard development led by the Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory in Richmond. This laboratory also manages CAL-DNA—a computerized identification database for comparing DNA evidence—which is linked with national systems such as NDIS through CODIS.
