|
"Advances in DNA technology are among the most important tools
law enforcement have to improve public safety and fight crime," Gov.
Blagojevich said. "This dramatic reduction in untested DNA cases is
a testament to the hard work and dedication of ISP crime lab
scientists to speed the wheels of justice and put those who choose a
life of crime where they belong -- behind bars." Through
additional resources provided to the agency, the state police were
able to reduce the backlog of cases awaiting DNA analysis to 158 by
December 2004, down from 1,113 in January of last year. Also during
that time period, the offender sample backlog was reduced from
58,835 samples awaiting analysis to 10,491 samples.
Gov. Blagojevich directed $2.6 million for private analysis of
DNA cases in fiscal 2004 while 13 new forensic scientists were in
training. In addition, the governor approved hiring six DNA evidence
technicians to assist with the DNA case backlog. Funds were also
secured through three Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority grants and one National Institute of Justice grant, for a
total of $1.7 million. The governor allocated an additional $2.67
million in fiscal 2005 to continue private work on the backlog while
the 13 scientists complete the final stages of training. In fiscal
2005 the state police will also receive two National Institute of
Justice grants, one Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
grant and a grant from the Midwest Forensic Resource Center.
"Governor Blagojevich is providing us with the funding necessary
to analyze thousands of samples previously backlogged within our
crime labs," said Larry Trent, director of the Illinois State
Police. "Investigators will now have conclusive information to
assist them in solving open cases. In many instances, the
information contained in these DNA samples can provide an indelible
link to criminals attempting to elude authorities."
The tremendous increase in offender sample submissions sent to
the ISP forensic laboratory system is a result the "All Felons
Legislation" in 2002, which required law enforcement officials to
take DNA samples from every convicted felon and sex offender. In an
attempt to address the offender sample backlog, the governor
directed $4.1 million in the past two fiscal years in support of
this DNA indexing program.
The ISP forensic science laboratory system, established in 1942,
is recognized as the third largest crime laboratory system in the
world, following the Forensic Science Services in Great Britain and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. The state
system, encompassing eight operational laboratories and a research
and development laboratory, provides crime scene and forensic
science services to about 1,500 criminal justice agencies throughout
Illinois.
Public Act 093-0785 requires the Illinois State Police to report
information related to the backlog of DNA cases, measures that have
been or are being taken to reduce the backlogs, and an estimate of
the costs involved. The information in the report is
available at
www.isp.state.il.us.
= = =
Illinois State Police 2004 DNA Testing Accountability Report
Overview
By statute, the Illinois State Police provides crime scene and
forensic science services to about 1,500 criminal justice agencies.
The ISP forensic science laboratory system, established in 1942, is
recognized as the third largest crime laboratory system in the
world, following the Forensic Science Services in Great Britain and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. The system,
encompassing eight operational laboratories and a research and
development laboratory, processes cases in the following
disciplines: drug chemistry, trace chemistry, toxicology,
microscopy, forensic biology-DNA, latent prints, firearms and tool
marks, documents, and polygraph. All ISP laboratories are accredited
by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory
Accreditation Board.
Other noteworthy achievements of the ISP forensic science
laboratory system include establishment of the first formal forensic
science training program in 1977, the first forensic science quality
assurance program in 1980, and the first formal state forensic
science research and development program in 1985.
The mission of the ISP forensic science laboratory system is to
serve the citizens of Illinois with accurate, complete and timely
forensic services. Approximately 98 percent of the ISP forensic
services are provided to local law enforcement agencies.
Crime scene investigators are housed in 24 offices across the
state and respond to calls for service 365 days a year, 24 hours a
day. The investigators provide a variety of services for federal,
state and local law enforcement agencies. In addition to collecting,
interpreting and packaging evidence, investigators provide blood
spatter interpretation, facial composite drawings, forensic
anthropology, animated re-creations, and diagrams of crime and crash
scenes.
The role of forensic science in the criminal justice arena is
drastically changing. In the past, forensic science analysis often
entered into the picture near the end of the criminal investigative
process -- after the crime, after the investigation, after the
arrest of a suspect, but before prosecution. The role of forensic
science was seen as preparatory for the case to go to trial. In
today's environment, the role of forensic science enters the picture
to assist investigators in developing leads and identifying possible
suspects immediately after a crime is committed. Now the forensic
work oftentimes precedes an arrest.
This role change, which substantially increases the significance
of forensic science in the criminal investigative process and
increases the demands placed upon the system, is mainly due to two
factors: the increased awareness of forensic science and advances in
technology. Popular television shows such as "Forensic Files," "Cold
Case Files" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" have increased the
public's awareness of forensic science.
Examples of technological advances that occurred in the Crime
Scene Services Command this past year were the distribution of
digital cameras and portable CD writers to all crime scene
investigators. With this technology, the investigators can produce
photographic CDs at crime scenes and make them immediately available
to investigators. During fiscal 2004, the Crime Scene Services
Command handled 4,561 cases statewide.
Another example of technological advances is the use of
computerized databases. The Integrated Ballistics Identification
System can link cartridge cases and bullets from different crime
scenes, as well as a bullet or cartridge to a particular weapon; and
the Automated Fingerprint Identification System can match latent
prints from crime scenes to a state and national database of
10-print cards. In fiscal 2004, the ISP entered 1,574 bullet images
into the ballistics database, which resulted in two hits, or a 0.13
percent hit rate. Also, 5,536 casing images were entered into the
database, which resulted in 136 hits, for a 2.5 percent hit rate. In
fiscal 2004, there were 785 hits in the fingerprint database, for an
average of 65 hits per month. This equates to a 34 percent hit rate,
one of the highest in the nation.
These powerful tools also have resulted in increasing numbers of
cases presented to the forensic science laboratory system for
analysis. In fiscal 2004, the laboratories received 118,179 forensic
cases and worked 110,863 cases, with a total backlog of 10,279 cases
at the end of fiscal 2004.
The DNA program
The Illinois State Police DNA program consists of two components:
evidence from crime scene cases and convicted offender samples. When
a person is the victim of a sexual assault, some of the evidence
collected by the police includes a sexual assault kit, clothing bed
linens and so forth. This evidence is brought to one of the ISP
laboratories for forensic biology-DNA analysis. The first step is
the detection and identification of a biological stain; the next
step is to establish a DNA profile from the stain. The DNA profile
is compared to known standards from the victim and suspect. If a
suspect is not known, the profile is searched against the state and
national DNA database known as the COmbined DNA Index System, or
CODIS. All convicted felons in Illinois are required to submit a
biological sample for DNA typing and inclusion in CODIS.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
When an
unknown DNA profile from a crime scene stain matches a known
offender DNA profile or when an unknown DNA profile from one crime
matches an unknown DNA profile from another crime, this is referred
to as a "hit." The program gives police the ability to identify
possible suspects to a crime or to link crime scenes, thus providing
crucial investigative information to help solve the crime.
"Cold cases" -- those which have been classified as
"dead" or "unsolved" -- have had new life breathed into them because
of advances in DNA technology. The power of DNA and use of CODIS
have resulted in an effective crime fighting tool for law
enforcement. Matching known offender DNA profiles to unknown DNA
crime scene profiles or matching unknown DNA crime scene profiles to
other unknown DNA crime scene profiles provides a method to identify
a suspect and provides additional investigative information that may
result in solving cases previously classified as "cold cases." In
fiscal 2004, 69,805 offender samples were received, and 24,244
samples were worked through in-house analysis and outsourcing. In
addition, 2,055 unknown DNA crime scene profiles were entered into
the database. In fiscal 2004, there were 367 CODIS hits, or
approximately 31 hits per month, for one per day on average.
DNA case backlog
Individuals performing DNA analysis are highly trained and
require specialized laboratory space and equipment to conduct their
tests. When the number of cases submitted to the laboratory exceeds
the capacity of the laboratory staff to conduct the analysis within
a 30-day time period, a "backlog" occurs. The monthly DNA casework
backlog for 2004 is shown in the chart
below. In January 2004, the backlog of cases awaiting DNA analysis
was 1,113. The backlog decreased through the end of June to 175
cases and to 158 cases at the end of December -- a 70-day
turnaround. The ISP was able to achieve this reduction by
outsourcing case samples and increasing the processing capacity
internally. The ISP is on track for a zero backlog or 30-day
turnaround by the end of fiscal 2005. However, loss of staff and
unexpected increases in case growth are factors that can negatively
affect this projection.
Backlog reduction strategy
The ISP strategy to tackle this problem has been multifaceted,
considering both long- and short-term approaches to include the
following: (1) hire sufficient forensic scientists, evidence
technicians and training staff; (2) aggressively obtain federal
grant funding; (3) outsource DNA samples using both state and
federal funding; (4) educate police and prosecutors to "triage"
crime evidence by submitting the most probative evidence; and (5)
prioritizing cases.
A number of initiatives have been instituted to address the DNA
case backlog. In fiscal 2004, Gov. Blagojevich approved the hiring
of 15 forensic scientist trainees in forensic biology-DNA. Since
they were hired in May 3, 2004, two have resigned and the remaining
13 are currently in training. In 2004, the ISP also instituted a new
approach to DNA training, which is anticipated to reduce the
training period from 24 months to 18 months. The additional
personnel will build ISP's processing capacity. In addition, the ISP
is investigating new and modified analytical techniques to improve
productivity and is seeking grant funding to continue outsourcing
the case backlog.
In fiscal 2004, the governor directed $2.6 million to be used for
DNA case outsourcing while the 13 new forensic scientists were in
training. Approval was also given to hire six DNA evidence
technicians to assist with the DNA case backlog in mid-July 2004. In
fiscal 2005, Gov. Blagojevich directed an additional $2.67 million
to be used to outsource the backlog of DNA cases while the 13
scientists complete the final stages of training.
The ISP has aggressively pursued grant funds to address the DNA
backlog. In fiscal 2004, three Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority grants and one National Institute of Justice grant,
totaling $1.7 million, were used to outsource cases. In fiscal 2005,
the ISP will receive two National Institute of Justice grants, one
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority grant and one grant
from the Midwest Forensic Resource Center to purchase DNA equipment,
build processing capacity, outsource DNA cases and conduct research
into new techniques.
See chart below for figures by fiscal year.
The future of DNA testing
The fiscal 2006 budget request will include hiring eight
additional forensic scientists, one training coordinator and one
research coordinator. In order to maintain processing capacity at
the 30-day turnaround, forensic scientist vacancies will need to be
filled as they occur. Outsourcing will continue in fiscal 2006 with
a combination of grant funds and state dollars. By adding new head
count and filling vacancies, the ISP will have a total of 72
forensic biology-DNA analysts, 12 evidence technicians and two
training coordinators by fiscal 2007. If these staffing levels
remain constant and adequate funding is provided, cases will be
processed in-house without further need for outsourcing.
Offender sample backlog
CODIS is overseen by the FBI and implemented by the Illinois
State Police at the state level. The offender portion of this system
contains DNA profiles of individuals convicted of felonies as well
as a few other eligible offenses. Samples collected from offenders
are submitted to the Indexing Unit of the Springfield Forensic
Science Laboratory, where they are analyzed and uploaded to the
CODIS database.
A backlog occurs when the number of samples submitted during the
month exceeds the laboratory's capacity to analyze or outsource them
that month. The chart below illustrates the
monthly laboratory backlogs in 2004. In January 2004, there were
58,835 offender samples in the laboratory awaiting analysis. That
number increased to 69,859 by the end of June 2004. By December
2004, the backlog decreased to 10,491 samples. This decrease was due
to increased resources for sample analysis, both for outsourcing and
in-house analysis.
The All Felons Legislation was passed in 2002 and resulted in a
tremendous increase in offender sample submissions to the ISP
forensic laboratory system. In January 2004, the Illinois State
Police CODIS laboratory switched from blood to buccal swab (swabbing
of the inside of the cheek) collection of offender samples. Because
offender sample collection was made easier and cheaper, agency
compliance appears to have increased, which resulted in a higher
offender sample submission rate than in previous years.
Several initiatives have been established to address the offender
sample backlog. In fiscal 2004, training was completed for personnel
hired in fiscal 2003. Newly trained staff members were then assigned
to analyze samples in-house and provide samples for outsourcing. In
fiscal 2004, the Illinois CODIS laboratory purchased a computerized
system capable of sample tracking, quality assurance and quality
control monitoring, and workload assignment tracking, allowing for
increased efficiency. The final implementation steps were performed
in late 2004. The ISP also received approximately $1.2 million in
funding and services from the National Institute of Justice as part
of the Convicted Offender DNA Backlog Reduction Program.
The ISP has received both state and federal grant funding to
address the increase in offender sample submissions. In fiscal 2004
and fiscal 2005, Gov. Blagojevich directed $4.1 million per year in
support of the DNA indexing program. In the fourth quarter of fiscal
2004, the ISP was notified of a federal grant award for purchase of
additional equipment that will increase the output capacity of the
CODIS laboratory and allow the current staff to handle the sample
submissions once the backlog is eliminated. In fiscal 2005 and
fiscal 2006, the ISP will continue to explore grant funding and
state resources to help eliminate the backlog. During fiscal 2006,
assuming no changes in staffing, technology or legislation, the ISP
anticipates the CODIS laboratory will be able to keep pace with the
influx of offender samples.
[News release from the
governor's office] |
