Some charges in supervisorial race may be inaccurate, according to law officer

Peter Foy The three candidates who are vying to represent the Fourth District on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors all say they support law enforcement. The challengers contend that incumbent Supervisor Judy Mikels hasn't been doing her job to ensure that public safety needs are met.

In response to candidate Peter Foy's assertion that the county crime lab is backlogged, Ron Nelson, spokesperson for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, said analysis of drugs taken as evidence is the primary cause of the backlog.

In addition to processing drug evidence, the lab handles everything from DNA to blood and urine samples. Those specimens are handled in a timely fashion, Nelson said.

The processing of drug evidence is falling behind because of the busy caseload, especially methamphetamines, he said.

The delay in analysis isn't causing criminals to be released prematurely, Nelson said, because most of the defendants plead guilty before trials.

Evidence from cases that go to trial is analyzed by the lab in a timely fashion, Nelson said.

The department is currently recruiting about 60 people, mostly for deputy and dispatcher positions. The agency is short on staff because employees were laid off and a hiring freeze was in effect during budget shortfalls in past years.

"So now we're trying to play catch-up," Nelson said.

Jail overcrowding is still an issue that needs to be addressed. The Ventura County Jail is filled to capacity, but officials are working to mitigate that problem and they hope to expand the jail in the future.

Although it was closed for a while, the East County Jail is now open on a part-time basis.

Once the department has adequate staff, it will be open full

time, possibly later this year, Nelson said.