When the lab never sleeps
Authored by Chad Gish. A few years ago, my lab at Nashville Police Department hit the breaking point. Our backlog was growing, detectives were waiting months for devices to come back, and I caught myself thinking the same thing many investigators do: We’ll just overtime our way out of this. But you can’t outwork exponential data growth. As the cases piled up, so did the pressure. In homicide or violent-crime work, time isn’t a luxury; it’s the difference between a solved case and a family that never gets answers. When you’re the lead detective, that weight sits squarely on your shoulders.