Case-file backlogs were identified as one of the cause factors affecting the competitiveness of the forensic science laboratory (FSL). Backlogs represent case-files？that remain unprocessed or unreported within a selected time interval (year, week or month) which leads to increased customer complaints, rework, cost of analysis, degradation of biological samples, etc. Case-file backlogging was quantified in three consecutive years (2014 to 2016), using the following parameters: case-files received and case-files processed, difference of which gives case-files backlogged. There was a need to define time interval for a case-file to be regarded as backlogged (that is, one week), results of which can translate into backlogged case-files per month or year. A data collection tool was established and used for three work stations (forensic chemistry, biology/DNA and toxicology laboratories). The tool includes starting and ending date for each？time interval, in which the numbers of case-files received and processed were entered followed by computing the backlogs. It was observed that, case-files reported？increased between 2014 and 2016 leading to a decrease in backlogged case-files.？The annual percentage of the case-files backlogged was highest for forensic？toxicology. The highest number of case-files backlogged was observed for forensic？chemistry, followed by forensic biology/DNA. The number of case-files？backlogged per analyst per year was highest in 2014 and dropped continuously？towards 2016, being comparably higher in forensic biology/DNA and chemistry.？Probability density functions (PDFs) and cumulative distribution functions (CDFs)？of backlogs data indicated that a large number of backlogs created in previous？weeks were eliminated. It was concluded that the effect of case-file backlogging on FSL competitiveness can be minimized by continued management effort in backlog elimination.
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