The Backlog of DNA Samples and Its Effects on the Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example

 Criminal Justice The Backlog of DNA Samples and Its Effects on the Criminal Justice System Abstract This research study is to look at the situation of DNA case backlogs which are occurring at an alarming rate. Part of this has to do with the reduction in government allotment of funds to the required departments that subsist on them to function and to perform the analysis on crime evidence. This analysis is essential for prosecuting cases of rape and murder and therefore, must be conducted quickly to ensure justice for the victim and conviction of the guilty. When DNA samples are not analyzed in a timely fashion, then murderers and rapists are allowed to go free and take another life or rape another person. It is essential to get the DNA samples analyzed and into the crime database to prevent more crimes from happening. Introduction As technology makes leaps and bounds in new developments on a daily basis, so do the methods for collecting and testing evidence in a crime scene. With the advent of DNA testing, the conviction rate of the right defendant has also come to the forefront of the news outlets, including those cases which have freed long-term convicted people of crimes that, in fact, they did not commit. Where there is a problem now is the backlog of DNA samples waiting to be tested so as to be used in a court case of murder, rape or other criminal acts where DNA evidence was left behind. The question which is the basis for this research, is “in what way can DNA sample backlogs be cut down efficiently, or be eliminated entirely, without compromising the integrity of the evidence?” Literature Review In April 2011, the SAFER Act was introduced by Reps. Caroline Maloney (D-NY) and Ted Poe (R-TX) as a supplement to the Debbie Smith Act and allow for the utilization of funds already in place within the Debbie Smith Act to create the Sexual Assault Forensic Registry. This registry is available for those who need to see the status of a rape kit such as a case officer or the rape victim who receives a special ID number in order to log in. The case officer can also update case information within this registry so that evidence can be tracked in real time. This gives a sense of empowerment to the victim who can track the case advancements and also allow for complaints should things not be advancing quickly enough (RAINN, web). In the cases of rape, getting the DNA analyzed in time for a trial is paramount to getting a conviction against a suspect if the DNA matches both the evidence and the suspect. Aside from this particular benefit, this also provides a status of DNA rape kits and backlogs across the country. It is important to monitor where backlogs are occurring in order to step in and make adjustments in operations should certain laboratories show a propensity for lagging behind on deadlines in getting evidence samples analyzed (RAINN, web). Analysis of rape kits are only one part of DNA testing in crime labs across the United States. There is also the evidence found at a crime scene for a murder that require careful testing in order to build a picture of what happened as part of required evidence within a court trial. Evidence found in clothing and other fibers, evidence in footprints, possible crime implements such as knives or firearms, all require the appropriate amount of time for accuracy to build the story line and prosecute a case against a suspect (OJP, web). A backlogged case sample is defined as one which was submitted to a laboratory over 30 days before and has yet to be tested. As the logs of cases change daily for any given lab, backlogs can change accordingly, usually growing larger depending on the capabilities and resources available at any given laboratory. In many cases of backlogs, funding must be expanded in order to hire more employees and to also upgrade resident equipment to more modern standards such as computer capabilities and high-standard software programs for analysis purposes and for database work. This is particularly crucial in cases where DNA and other fluids must be tested in a timely manner so the evidence does not deteriorate. This funding is done by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) through the DNA Backlog Reduction Program which is available nationwide (OJP, web). The Connection The importance of having DNA tested and logged cannot be stressed enough, aside from providing irrefutable evidence within criminal trails, is the fact that suspects are not always caught and consequently, while DNA may end up in the main database, it may not be associated with a person’s name. Therefore, when a suspect commits another crime and then is caught, if the DNA collected matches DNA found in another case, this ties the suspect to the other crime as well. This can account for catching serial killers who have killed maybe five victims but not been caught. On the sixth victim’s murder, the suspect is arrested and when DNA is taken from the suspect and matched to the current victim, when put into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), it connects with the five previous victims. Thus, federal agents can now safely assume they have caught a serial killer and can finally get him or her off the streets for good. The DNA evidence makes the conviction practically foolproof (Doleac, 2). It goes without saying that the sooner DNA can be tested and inserted into the CODIS, the faster a suspect can be removed from society, thus potentially saving another victim’s life that he might have taken if the DNA evidence had not been in place. The elimination of backlogs concerning rape and murder cases that provide DNA samples of an unknown suspect, therefore, is essential in finding, recognizing and getting a criminal removed from society as soon as possible. As a final viewpoint, laboratories with expert technicians, must take priority in funding for expansion and upgrading of technical tools to ensure that there are no backlogs of DNA evidence taken from murder and rape cases. Without a backlog, this means that serial killers will be caught faster before more damage to society is done. To save one person from death is worth the cost of eliminating backlogs. Do We Need a Bigger Database? In a 2012 research paper, it was determined through scenario testing that those states with larger DNA databases were associated with lower crime rates between the years 2000-2008. The first part of this concerns the theory that DNA profiling increases probability of conviction. Rationally thinking offenders, who have already donated DNA either through some type of testing or through having left DNA at another crime scene, may choose not to commit another offense, knowing that, if caught, the conviction penalty could be higher when associated with another crime of some sort. When an offender has a DNA profile in the database, it is then easier to catch that offender unless that person takes great care not to be seen or to leave any evidence behind that could be incriminating. This would be considered the deterrent factor. In the analysis of these scenarios between 2000 and 2008, there would have been a ‘3.2% decrease in murders, a 6.6% decrease in rapes, a 2.9% decreased in aggravated assaults and a 5.4% decrease in vehicle thefts’ (Doleac, 3-4). This also suggests that recidivism and subsequent prosecution can be cheaper to the state in terms of database costs which are minimal, as opposed to police presence which is more expensive. Growing the Database A number of states have already expanded their databases to include all those convicted of crimes, most of which were still incarcerated. It could also be safely assumed that anyone who ever gave a fingerprint on a check at a bank and thus, went into a nationwide database such as the CODIS, could also be identified a lot faster when leaving a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. While arguments that this particular aspect of collecting fingerprints violates the U.S. Constitution, the idea does merit a certain amount of thought as to how things may head towards in the future. The national database is only as good as any particular state database that it links into as well. Some states added rape DNA profiles sooner than did other states. Theft DNA profiles may have been added nearly five years later and only for those currently incarcerated. This, in turn, qualifies under the ‘what if’ factor because if a theft profile had been added sooner, it might have also caught a murderer sooner. This is also another reason to work vigorously on reducing backlogs in DNA analysis as more crimes can be solved sooner once the information is in the database (Doleac, 11). The cost of expanding the CODIS database does show a great savings, both in benefits of identifying suspects and in calculating the prevention of new crimes by cost to the public. This roughly amounts to $30.5 million in cost to maintain and expand the CODIS while the savings in crime prevention is calculated at $21 billion (Doleac, 24). The Costs of Cutbacks in Forensic Services While it can be said that providing the funds to help expand the forensic laboratory services, including elimination of the DNA backlogs, this scientific field is also experiencing budgetary cuts under an overall economy that requires cutbacks be made across all government services, both statewide and nationwide. As an example, Alabama’s Department of Forensic Sciences applied for a 2012 award of $1,116,829 in order to counterbalance a 43% reduction in State level funding over the previous four years. This application comes on the heels of seeing the benefits of increased database sample submissions from its ‘all felony arrestee’ DNA statute, implemented in 2010. While helping to identify suspects, the backlog is also growing due to the four-year cuts in services made, hence, the application for funding. The aim for the funding is for a reduction of at least 480 cases by the end of the award period during which it will analyze 8,800 cases and reduce turnaround time by 20 days. Much of this award will provide overtime pay for analysts, purchase of biology supplies, database supplies, increase laboratory supplies such as a needed refrigerator, and assist technicians in maintaining required continuing education in accordance with the FBI Director’s Quality Assurance Standards guideline (USDOJ, 5). In previous years, before the CODIS existed, experts would have to be called into court to testify regarding the validity of criminal evidence in trials. In places such as New York and California, these experts’ fees ranged from $8,000 to $10,000. With the advent of DNA and the CODIS database, the cost for DNA testing in 2007 (Wisconsin) was $390 which was quite a savings. But I n 2006, the State Crime Laboratory received 2,226 cases and could only process 1,152 of these, thus creating a cost because the evidence wasn’t in place for the investigation and evidence needed in court trials. It was also calculated that millions would be needed to hire and train DNA specialists in order to whittle down the backlogs (DNA, web). Methodology In researching the problem of how to solve the backlog of DNA sample cases while retaining viability, it was determined that reviewing any research into what had been looked at as better ways to conduct field sample DNA collections and what those processes entailed, would be the best route. Therefore, in order for the research to be viable, it must show cost effectiveness in changing to a different system, implement the new system at minimal cost, show the effectiveness through testing and analysis, and make a significant impact in DNA case analysis log reduction. Analysis and the Solution In a 2008 research survey of all 50 states’ CODIS laboratories, the goal was to find out the state of backlog in each instance first and to also find out what procedures were in place for conducting analysis of the DNA samples. Of the states initially queried, 25 responded to the survey, creating a fairly robust representation of all 50 states. Some states had 1,000 DNA cases in backlog and a few had as many as 30,000, a very high number, which also led to nearly a year in turning around some of these cases. According to the survey, some of this backlog was due to collection and analysis procedures which created inefficiencies and required a time-consuming re-analysis. Others responded that this backlog was also due to lack of personnel and not enough equipment along with more advanced tools (Lindstrom, 8). Some of the suggestions made for improvement in speed of analysis were to eliminate the extraction phase of the DNA analysis process which would then increase the ‘throughput’ and reduce the cost of analysis. Much of what holds up a DNA cases for example, is the extraction process. If the sample proves to be contaminated, then the extraction must be done again, according to the research. In making collections of DNA samples from a crime scene for example, qualified medical personnel may not always be available to the officers or investigators on the scene. This means that a less qualified person must take the sample and obviously, this may cause a problem when it comes time to analyze the sample which turns out to be contaminated. There are two major DNA kits which are currently used most often: the Whatman® FTA® cards and the BODE™ Buccal DNA Collector™. There should also be a blood collection kit on hand to get a better sample preservation. One of the major problems here is the high cost of both the DNA kits which can make it a problem for smaller crime departments with limited funding. Another problem is that while both kits are relatively accurate, there is room for failure because of how they need to be used. The swab process can also be used but its limitation is in the open air drying process, leaving the samples open to potential contamination as they must hang on a line during the drying process (Lindstrom, 10). The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), who conducted this research, came up with its own kit called the “All-in-One™” DNA Collection Kit which is a synthesis of all the best points from current kits being used on the market today in DNA collection services. While not out on the market yet, in practice through OSBI, it has proven to be simple to use, provides reliable high-level results, and is very affordable. This means, that in a pinch, any law enforcement personnel can use it to obtain evidence for future analysis when medical personnel cannot be brought to the scene (Lindstrom, 11). This development, along with the use of the Identifiler® Direct PCR Amplification Kit, created by Applied Biosystems™ expressly for this application, bypasses the extraction and purification steps, providing a far more efficient and economical method of operations in the field. Currently, it works with the FTA card system but is currently being validated by OSBI to also work with the new system devised by OSBI (Lindstrom, 13). The current extraction process is also one step of the analysis that takes a number of hours to pull the right particle out of the overall sample. Should this be contaminated, then the whole extraction must be redone again. Aside from the two to three hours taken for this part, the price of the reagents used as part of the extraction, are very expensive. Finding a method that bypasses this lengthy process altogether, saves a great deal of money. Therefore, Applied Biosystems is already at work on a solution to work with the cheaper system of buccal swabs with one validated test soon to be presented on the marketplace (Lindstrom, 15). Conclusion These revised steps within the analysis process would help immensely with reducing, even eliminating, much of the DNA case backlog currently plaguing many departments across the United States. The savings are in time gained which can be applied to other cases to be moved through sooner, thus shortening the time lag. The savings are also in the expenditures of the analysis products used which can be reduced if using the complete system as devised by OSBI and Applied Biosystems (Lindstrom, 15). However, these changes in processing and analyzing DNA case samples which would reduce backlogs, will work, but for how long? The population is gaining numbers at a large rate and therefore, even these changes will soon not be enough. The money saved in the new implemented techniques could be diverted instead to hiring more qualified technicians as well as upgrading the facilities to stay up-to-date on new developing technologies as they happen. The importance of DNA analysis is strongest in cases of rape, particularly if the suspect is unknown to the victim and the victim seeks medical help immediately after the event. This ensures a timely collection of DNA evidence which can be analyzed and then matched in the database or else verified with a potential suspect (Sommers et al, 11). For those cases where the suspect is known to the victim, DNA is of importance but the evidence surrounding the event is also more important to conviction as well. Another part of the importance of DNA analysis and the elimination of backlogs are the cases of those who have wrongly been accused of a crime and who have spent decades in jail because of wrong convictions. It is important to test evidence from those times when DNA analysis was not available to prove innocence or guilt. In today’s world, much more can be done to prove someone is innocent than it was thirty years ago. This is precisely why DNA backlogs must be eliminated in order to provide just convictions of the guilty and freedom for the innocent (Price, web). Resources BJA. (2012). National Criminal Intelligence Resource Center (NCIRC). http://www.ncirc.gov/organizations.cfm Case Study. (n.d.) Maryland Department of Crime Laboratory Service (DCLS). Online Training Tool. http://gfm.webfirst.com/pluginfile.php/161/mod_page/content/5/CASE%20STUDY%20I.pdf Cratty, C. (2012). FBI makes headway on DNA testing backlog, report says. CNN Justice Online. http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/25/justice/fbi-dna-backlog DNA. (2007). Economic Impact. DNA Fingerprinting Online. http://drugdiscovery.webs.com/economicimpact.htm Doleac, J. (2012). The Effects of DNA Databases on Crime. Working paper. JEL Classifications: K14, K42, H07. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=20&ved=0CGMQFjAJOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aeaweb.org%2Faea%2F2013conference%2Fprogram%2Fretrieve.php%3Fpdfid%3D129&ei=86s8UZeRMMrM2AWW1oHIBA&usg=AFQjCNF69qLp8F4MMl4QkNVIkqVc5XE7Vw&sig2=qzE0J7vEU03RtHCHqMpieQ&bvm=bv.43287494,d.b2I Fact Sheet. (2003). The President’s Initiative to Advance Justice Through DNA Technology. Justice.gov Online. http://www.justice.gov/ag/dnaoverviewinitiative21.htm Lindstrom, J.D. (2012). A More Efficient Means to Collect & Process Reference DNA Samples. FY 2009 Forensic DNA Unit Efficiency Improvement. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation – grant research. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237764.pdf OJP. (2012). The DNA Backlog, OJP Fact Sheet, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Department of Justice Online. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/factsheets/ojpfs_dnabacklog.html Price, W.F. (2013). False Conviction Rate for Rape Historically higher than Claimed False Accusation Rate, The Spearhead Online. http://www.the-spearhead.com/2013/03/03/false-conviction-rate-for-rape-historically-higher-than-claimed-false-accusation-rate/ RAINN. (2011). SAFER Act Will Help End DNA Backlog and Empower Rape Victims. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 4/13/2011. http://rainn.org/news-room/SAFERAct Sommers, I. and Baskin, D. (2011). The Influence of Forensic Evidence on the Outcomes of Rape Incidents, The Justice System Journal, 32 (3). http://www.ncsc.org/Publications/Justice-System-Journal/~/media/Files/PDF/Publications/Justice%20System%20Journal/Influence%20of%20Forensic%20Evidence.ashx USDOJ. (2012). Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program: Fiscal Year 2012 Awards and Abstracts, U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/forensics/lab-operations/evidence-backlogs/dna-backlog-reduction-abstracts-fy12.pdf Read More