Training and Assistance on Using DNA To Identify Missing Persons

Under the the President's initiative, the Attorney General will develop training and provide assistance regarding the collection and use of DNA evidence to the wide variety of professionals involved in the criminal justice system in a number of areas, including identifying missing persons. This page describes the work undertaken to meet this Initiative goal.

• Regional Missing Persons Training Conferences
• National Strategy Meeting
  

The U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) conducted two  regional missing person trainings, one in Clearwater Beach, Florida on September 19-21, 2005 (view Agenda), and the other in Denver, Colorado on November 7-9, 2005 (view Agenda).  The trainings were hosted by the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC), a member of the NIJ-sponsored Forensic Resource Network.  

The training in Florida targeted states east of the Mississippi, while the training in Denver targeted states west of the Mississippi.  The trainings convened medical examiners, law enforcement personnel; managers of state missing children clearinghouses; family members of long-term missing adults or their advocates; forensic scientists and key state policymakers.

The trainings informed attendees of the resources available to assist them in their jurisdictions with the identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains.  Information about model state programs, reference sample collection kits, evidence repositories, statutes, and standard operating procedures were provided.

A concrete example of the success of bringing experts together to share knowledge and information is best illustrated in a case that was solved shortly after the training in Florida. An investigator from the Michigan State Police presented an unsolved case during one of the training sessions. When the investigator returned home he used the information provided to him by the many experts at the training and was able to solve the case.

The events of September 11, 2001, demonstrated on a national scale the potential for anguish when the remains of a missing person go unidentified. Historically, there has been an inability to maximize resources and share information among entities charged with identifying remains and entities conducting investigations. The President has charged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) with identifying the policies and practices that will allow investigative agencies to use every available tool—including DNA—in solving missing persons cases.

At this meeting, DOJ brought together Federal, State, and local law enforcement; coroners and medical examiners; victim advocates; forensic scientists; key policymakers; and family members who have lived through this tragic experience. These participants along with DOJ components were brought together to develop a national strategy to address this critical problem and to foster and enable collaboration across geographic jurisdictions and individual fields of expertise.

Co-sponsoring DOJ components include the Office of Justice Programs, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Justice, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Office on Violence Against Women.

The meeting featured a mix of plenary and breakout sessions to disseminate detailed information about various aspects of missing persons cases and the identification of remains. View the conference agenda and a description of these sessions.