According to the union, the structural lack of staff and the implementation of temporary solutions have turned the expert appraisal system into a judicial bottleneck. Currently, numerous procedures are paralyzed for three to five years, awaiting essential technical reports for courts to issue resolutions.
The union criticizes that while public services operate with insufficient staff, the Administration of Justice has allocated over 263,000 euros to outsourcing expert reports to private companies. According to Resolution 490/2026, between 2024 and 2025, a total of 263,075.65 euros was paid in Tenerife for 75 reports, with an average cost of 3,507.67 euros per evaluation.
With the amount of just a dozen of these private reports, the annual salary of a specialized public employee could be financed, capable of handling a much larger workload and ensuring service continuity.
This situation critically affects the family sphere, where delays in technical assessments can keep minors separated from their families for years without a definitive evaluation to determine real risk. The union warns that this technical paralysis places children in a particularly vulnerable situation.
The staff deficit also directly impacts the Comprehensive Forensic Assessment Unit (UVIF), responsible for preparing essential multidisciplinary reports in gender violence cases. The lack of professionals prevents the rapid issuance of assessments, weakening the judicial protection of women and minors and delaying fundamental decisions for their safety.
In the criminal sphere, the shortage of specialists even leads to the expiration of judicial procedures, leaving victims without proper legal redress. Additionally, in juvenile justice, delays in expert reports postpone both criminal response and educational intervention with minor offenders, increasing the risk of recidivism.
Currently, the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences operates with approximately half its staff, while vacancies in social and psychological areas remain unfilled for years. This situation is exacerbated by high migratory pressure and despite warnings from the Prosecutor's Office about the need to strengthen the system.
