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Thursday, May 07, 2009

Ind. Law - More on: "Police want to add DNA from more people to database"

Updating these ILB entries from Feb. 17th and this one from April 20th that begins:

Updating this long ILB entry from Feb. 17th, I just checked the four DNA-related bills listed, and none of them is still viable.
The blog ProPublica, in conjunction with Politico, has conducted a major investigation of the national DNA backlog. This very long story by Ben Protess, dated May 5, is headed "The DNA Debacle: How the Federal Government Botched the DNA Backlog Crisis." Some quotes:
After her attack [in 1994, Kellie] Greene joined other rape victims in a crusade to expose the backlog of untested DNA evidence sitting in freezers and on shelves in police departments and crime labs nationwide. She spoke out about her ordeal in hopes of sparing other women similar pain.

In 2003, her efforts appeared to pay off. Greene stood with Attorney General John Ashcroft at the White House when he announced that the U.S. Justice Department planned to spend a billion dollars to eliminate the backlog. The aim of the mission: to help labs swiftly identify murderers, rapists and other dangerous criminals so they couldn't strike again.

But at the same time, the Justice Department, along with Congress and state legislatures, adopted a conflicting agenda: to collect more DNA samples from wider swaths of the population.

The result: Today, 15 years after Greene began her campaign, the backlog continues to soar. At least 350,000 samples from murder and rape cases -- many of them involving sexually abused children -- remain untested, according to the federal government's best estimates. In 2005, labs across the country saw their DNA backlogs nearly double.

Part of the uptick comes from new technologies that allow tiny bits of DNA found at crime scenes to be scooped up and tested. But much of the surge [1] can be traced to new federal and state laws [2] requiring law enforcement to collect DNA samples from people convicted of -- or simply arrested for -- nonviolent crimes, including shoplifting. Crime lab directors warn that analyzing these samples allows them less time to test DNA from crime scenes and serious criminals, leaving offenders free to prey on new victims.

The expansion of DNA collection laws has been promoted by a lobbying firm with close ties to both the Justice Department and to companies that profit directly from increased DNA testing, a ProPublica investigation has found.

The firm, Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs, lobbies the Justice Department and lawmakers on behalf of the world's leading producer of DNA testing equipment. Despite that relationship, the Justice Department awarded Gordon Thomas Honeywell a no-bid grant in 2002 to do a key study on backlogs that has helped shape the government's DNA policies -- policies that have benefitted the firm's private clients. * * *

As federal DNA laws ramped up, states expanded their collection as well.

Fifteen states now collect DNA upon arrest, compared with only two in 2002. More than 30 require samples from some juveniles and in 34 states, some people convicted of misdemeanors, including shoplifting, must submit to testing. Gordon Thomas Honeywell has lobbied lawmakers on behalf of its DNA clients in at least five of those states, including Washington, where the firm is based.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 7, 2009 08:55 AM
Posted to Indiana Law