San Francisco's police chief on Thursday extends hopes about the resumption of drug evidence testing as soon as today with the help of outside agencies, even as prosecutors posted that the number of cases registered a fall because of a cocaine-skimming scandal at the Police Department's lab is likely to rise.

It is reported that nearly 60 cases have been dismissed since Tuesday night, when prosecutors claim they became cognizant that a former technician in the drug lab who tested confiscated narcotics and vouched for them in court, Deborah Madden, was suspected to steal and use cocaine.

Moreover, police officials have closed down the lab Tuesday and claim to order an independent audit of its operations.

On Thursday, there was a notable absence of new drug defendants being brought to court - suggesting that with suspects unable to be prosecuted, police had stopped making drug arrests.

In the meanwhile, Police Chief George Gascon is reported to acknowledged that his department erred by keeping the district attorney and public defender's offices unaware of the fact that Madden was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in 2008.

But Police Chief George Gascón quoted, "We will vigorously oppose any move to give anyone a free pass for their criminal actions."