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SATI e-News: March 24, 2003
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Attorney
General Announces $1 Billion Commitment
to Eliminate DNA Backlog |
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Attorney General John D. Ashcroft
announced that the administration
will commit $1 billion over
the next
five years to process a massive
backlog of genetic
samples nationwide. The DNA Initiative is expected to help
solve thousands
of cold cases by processing DNA evidence from 350,000 crime
scenes, including rape kits, and 300,000
convicted offender samples which remain unevaluated (National
Institute of Justice estimates).
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Attorney General John D. Ashcroft,
at the March 11, 2003 press conference announcing the DNA
initiative. With him is Kellie Greene, whose attacker was
found through DNA testing. Greene, Executive Director of SOAR
(Speaking Out About Rape) was invited by Ashcroft to join him
on stage and deliver remarks.
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The administration announcement builds on previous efforts to
address the DNA backlog. Last year Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
and Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) led similar efforts
through separate legislative initiatives, supported by
Lifetime Television in a far-reaching media campaign. Their
proposals added to $170 million in grants authorized over
three years by the DNA Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, the
result of a bill introduced by former Rep. Bill McCollum
(R-FL). The NIJ’s National Commission on the Future of DNA
Evidence, led by Chris Asplen, laid the groundwork for many of
these initiatives using the assistance of a nationwide team of
experts.
Perhaps the most notable news about Ashcroft’s announcement is
the level of funding proposed and the administration’s
apparent commitment to allocate these funds despite a growing
federal budget deficit, estimated by the Department of
Treasury to be at $193.9 billion, five months into the current
fiscal year, without accounting for the current war efforts.
According to Lance Gima, Chief, Bureau of Forensic Services in
the California Department of Justice, the state is in the last
phase of its three-year backlog elimination project, which
includes approximately 12,000 rape kits. Gima welcomed the
news of the $1 billion federal commitment, particularly the
fact that it includes money for processing offender DNA.
“Building up the convicted felon database goes hand-in-hand
with our work to process crime scene evidence,” Gima told SATI
e-News.
Gima also noted that the Administration has earmarked some of
the new monies for research and development, which holds the
prospect for speeding up analysis significantly through such
techniques as robotics. “Technology becomes critical,
particularly with the shortage of DNA-qualified analysts,”
Gima added.
How to Start Planning Now for Influx of New Federal Monies
Many crime labs have been regularly following grant
opportunities and applying for funds. For those who are new to
the process, Gima has some advice: “Start working with police
departments and other agencies [which house evidence kits] to
start counting them now.” In California and many other states,
evidence collection is decentralized, thus making it difficult
to assess the scope of the problem and develop a strategic
plan.
Gima also recommends instituting a plan for how to handle new
incoming cases, while the backlog reduction work is going on.
Gima told SATI e-News, “I constantly warn my administrators
that we will get back into the same [backlog] situation if we
don’t stay on top of new cases.”
It is also important to assess the mix of in-house analysis
vs. out-sourcing. According to Gima, California prefers to do
the work in-house, as they have built infrastructure into labs
and developed relationships with police agencies and the
courts. Some NIJ grants stipulate that funds are for in-house
analysis only. The NIJ regularly lists open grants on its
website:
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij
Other Elements of DNA Initiative
In addition to funding, the administration’s DNA initiative
will encourage states to pass legislation to expand collection
requirements to include all convicted offenders (currently, 23
states have such legislation in place) and to make sample
collection statutes fully retroactive to offenders who remain
in custody or under supervision.
The Administration also proposes broadening the definition of
profiles allowable in the national DNA index. Its plan would
amend the federal statute to authorize inclusion of profiles
of “other persons, whose DNA samples are collected under
applicable legal authorities,” where it currently reads
“persons convicted of crimes,” according to a fact sheet
distributed at the press conference.
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Sources:
“Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology,” an overview of the
President's DNA initiative, March 2003.
“Fact Sheet: The President’s Initiative To Advance Justice
Through DNA Technology,” March 11, 2003.
Prepared Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroft, DNA
Initiative, March 11, 2003.
“Report to the Attorney General on Delays in Forensic DNA
Analysis,” National Institute of Justice, March 2003.
“$1 Billion Proposed For DNA Testing,” Washington Post, March
12, 2003.
“DNA Testing May Get Funding Hike," USA Today, March 10, 2003.
“Post-conviction DNA Testing: Recommendations for Handling
Requests,” Report of the National Commission on the Future of
DNA Evidence, National Institute of Justice, September 1999.
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