Backlog of Convicted Offender and Arrestee Samples
The term "backlog" usually is discussed in terms of cases waiting to be analyzed in crime laboratories. But there is also a backlog of samples from convicted offenders and arrestees waiting to be analyzed and uploaded to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The FBI's CODIS enables law enforcement to link DNA profiles obtained from crime scenes with profiles of convicted offenders, arrestees or both. It helps law enforcement identify suspects and confirm the identity of serial criminals.
According to data provided by state and local units of government who applied for funding under NIJ's fiscal year 2009 Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program, there were 426,620 convicted offender and 28,544 arrestee samples awaiting testing and analysis on January 1, 2008.
The number of offender and arrestee samples submitted to laboratories increased from more than 1 million in 2007 to more than 1.3 million in 2008. The increase is most likely due to passage of new state statutes requiring increased collections from convicted offenders and arrestees. See the National Conference of State Legislatures' State Laws on DNA Data Banks Qualifying Offenses.
Processing offender and arrestee samples in a timely fashion is necessary because CODIS software can match DNA profiles from unsolved cases or cases without a suspect to offender profiles in CODIS and thus provide key investigative leads. Early identification and apprehension of criminals (especially serial offenders) leads to reduced victimization.
Between 2005 and 2009, NIJ provided funds to help laboratories test more than 1.6 million convicted offender samples, arrestee samples or both. In addition, laboratories conducted more than 56,000 DNA profile reviews derived from these samples. Federal funding has resulted in more than 15,000 CODIS hits (or matches).
