DNA Backlog Reduction: Preventable Crimes

Example from New Jersey

DNA technology is evolving rapidly and many states are considering whether to expand DNA databases or invest in DNA casework investigations. In order to inform the discussion of these issues, NIJ commissioned an independent study to ascertain the size of and reasons for the nation's backlog of DNA evidence. The resulting report included the list of cases presented here. This list of cases is not exhaustive, does not identify the perpetrator or victim, and is not a reflection on the criminal justice agencies involved. These cases would remain unsolved if not for extraordinary detective work by dedicated criminal justice professionals in these agencies.

Case studies presented on this site are from an NIJ-funded independent study. Points of view or opinions in the resulting report are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice.

THREE PREVENTABLE RAPES

In mid-May 1998, a woman was raped at a public library in Essex County. One month later, a second woman was raped in a library. DNA samples were taken from both cases and loaded into the DNA database, where it was discovered that the two rapes were linked. Importantly, in matching these cases to each other, DNA also excluded two men being held by police as possible suspects.

In late June of 1998, a child was abducted and raped. A DNA sample was collected and sent to a private laboratory for testing, and the victim provided a description of the attacker to police. The police eventually identified a suspect, and DNA testing subsequently tied him to the child attack. After the sample was loaded into the state database, it was discovered that the same offender was the library rapist. Additionally, the same DNA profile was eventually matched to an October 1999 rape in New York City.

Preventable Crime: The offender had a prior felony arrest on a weapons possession charge. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor crime to which the offender pled guilty. If a DNA sample had been required of felony charges that result in misdemeanor convictions, the perpetrator could have been identified after the first rape, thereby preventing the following three rapes.

SEVEN PREVENTABLE ROBBERIES, FIVE PREVENTABLE RAPES

In October of 2002, the first in a series of ten robberies began. The incidents included seven aggravated sexual assaults, spanned four months and included victims in at least nine different New Jersey cities.

A person known to the police became a strong suspect in the first offense, and a DNA sample was collected from him four days later. A DNA match was finally made in January of 2003 to the third offense, but only after a unit commander requested expedited testing of the evidence.

Preventable Crime: The offender in question was convicted in the 1980's on federal felony robberies charges, and was released from a federal prison in 1999. Unfortunately, the federal government did not begin requiring DNA from felony robbery convictions until 2000. Moreover, law enforcement had custody of all the DNA information that they needed to arrest this offender within only a few weeks of the first offense. The omission of his DNA from the federal DNA database, along with the backlog delay in processing DNA evidence, allowed the offender to remain on the streets. With stronger federal statutes and shorter DNA testing delays, the perpetrator could have been identified after the third attack, thereby preventing the subsequent seven robberies and five rapes.

FOUR PREVENTABLE RAPES

Between April of 2002 and May of 2003, five women were raped in the Trenton area. DNA testing linked all five offenses to the same unknown perpetrator. After police released a composite sketch of the suspect in 2003, nearly 75 tips were called in identifying the same person. In June 2003, U.S. Marshals eventually arrested the suspect in Pennsylvania on a parole violation warrant that was issued in July of 2002. Trenton Police obtained a DNA sample from the suspect through a court order, and thanks to expedited testing at the state laboratory the man was linked to the crimes within a few days. The charges on 16 counts involving five victims are pending as the suspect awaits extradition to New Jersey from Pennsylvania.

Preventable Crime: The suspect's criminal record included two felony convictions for theft and forgery related offenses in New Jersey, and nine felony convictions for theft, forgery, and receiving stolen property in Pennsylvania. If the suspect had been required to give a DNA sample for any of these crimes in either state, he could have been identified after the first assault, thereby preventing the subsequent four rapes.

NIJ Funded Study

The cases are from National Forensic DNA Study Report and were developed using basic assumptions. For a full discussion on the review methodology that led to the conclusions presented here, see Section VI. "Forensic DNA and Crime Prevention." The report and case studies were prepared by Smith Alling Lane in partnership with Washington State University through the support of a grant awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Grant 2002-LT-BX-K 003). Points of view or opinions in this report are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice.