Press Releases
NEW NATIONAL STUDY: 542,700 CRIME SCENE DNA SAMPLES STILL WAITING TO BE TESTED NATIONWIDE
REASONS: DNA NOT SEEN AS CRIME SOLVING TOOL BY SOME POLICE, HIGH COST, LONG WAITS, INADEQUATE STORAGE SPACE ALSO CITED
WEINER PUSHES FOR SENATE PASSAGE OF DNA BILL
Washington, D.C. – According to a new study conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and commissioned by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens & Brooklyn), there are 542,700 untested DNA samples still waiting to be tested at crime labs and police departments across the country. The study found that multiple factors contribute to the backlog, including high cost, long waits for testing results, inadequate storage space, and the failure of some police to see DNA as a crime fighting tool.
DNA evidence is law enforcement’s most effective means to identify the perpetrators of violent crimes--but it only works when it’s tested. Today, there are 542,700 untested crime scene DNA samples waiting to be tested, including approximately 162,000 rape cases and 52,000 homicide cases. Why so many? According to the National Forensic DNA Study Report, some police still don’t see DNA as a key tool to solve crime, and others are dissuaded by high cost, long waits, and lack of storage space. Key findings include:
- 31.4% of responding law enforcement agencies say they don’t submit DNA evidence for testing unless a suspect has already been identified.
- 33.3% report that they do not submit DNA evidence for testing where a suspect has been identified but not yet charged, or prosecutors have not asked for DNA analysis to be done, or a guilty plea is expected.
- 14.2% report that they do not submit DNA evidence for testing because it takes too long for crime labs to process the request, or their area lab has stopped processing requests entirely.
- 9.4% report that they do not submit DNA evidence for testing because of lack of funding.
- 61% report that they do not have enough space for long term storage of DNA evidence, with 70% of those saying the need for more storage space is “critical” or “highly critical”.
- State crime labs take an average of 23.9 weeks to process rape kits, and local labs take an average of 30 weeks.
DNA is a genetic fingerprint: if police arrest a suspect and are able to link him to a crime scene through DNA, that’s ironclad evidence that often leads to conviction. And that’s often how DNA evidence is used: to bolster the prosecution of a known defendant.
But police should still test DNA found at crime scenes even when they don’t have a suspect. The reason is that there are over a million DNA samples already on file with national and state data banks, many for known and repeat offenders. Match DNA from a crime scene to the DNA of a known offender already on file at a data bank and you’ve got your man.
Even when no match is made, it’s still worth it to upload DNA into federal and state databanks. That way, if the perpetrator of an unsolved crime is ever arrested for a subsequent crime, his DNA can link him back to the first crime—as long as it is on file.
The problem is that in many of these kinds of cases, police aren’t testing DNA. Instead, it’s being stored, along with those samples that have been collected but not processed because of cost or testing delays. But storage space at local police departments and crime labs is running out. The hope of countless crime victims are running out with it.
“What this study tells us is that we’ve got to do a better job exploiting the many applications of DNA evidence,” said Rep. Weiner. “It can be just as valuable solving a crime as locking up a defendant. We need more funding, more crime lab staff, more storage space, but none of that will do much good if we don’t use DNA evidence to the fullest. One DNA sample can solve multiple crimes.”
Weiner, a Member of the House Judiciary Committee, urged the Senate to pass the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, which passed in the House last November. The bill contains provisions authored by Rep. Weiner calling for $105 million to test crime scene evidence and train nurses to treat sexual assault cases.
Weiner’s legislation compelling the Department of Justice to survey the nation’s DNA crime scene evidence backlog passed into law as part of the 2002 DOJ authorization bill. The National Forensic Study Report was compiled by the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, in partnership with Smith Alling Lane P.S. and the Division of Governmental Studies and Services at the Washington State University.
Four years ago, Rep. Weiner authored the DNA Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, the first legislation introduced in Congress to provide federal funding to analyze backlogged DNA crime scene samples. The bill led to an authorization of $125 million for that purpose. In the 107th Congress, he introduced the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act which would provide an additional $275 million. To read Rep. Weiner's report on this subject, click here.
