Many crime laboratories report high backlogs for forensic services. These backlogs can delay court proceedings and case investigation. Laboratories report that they do not have the staff to complete all service requests or the budget to hire new employees. Some laboratories have recently begun addressing these challenges with efficiency techniques—called process mapping, an efficiency forum, and business process management. The NIJ In Short Increasing Efficiency in Crime Laboratories describes how laboratories across the country have successfully used these techniques to reduce backlogs.