FY16 DNA Backlog Reduction Program - City of New York, Office of Chief Medical Examiner

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Department of Forensic Biology, serves as the public forensic laboratory for the City of New York and provides serology and DNA testing on thousands of case submissions every year. In 2015 a total of 39,099 DNA samples were extracted, with STR profiles generated, analyzed, and reviewed. As a result, the Department uploaded 7,201 profiles into CODIS. During the same year there were 1,057 cold hits to offender matches, 423 case-to-case matches and 497 conviction matches.

The Department of Forensic Biology’s 2016/17 goals are to increase the current capacity and reduce by half the turnaround time and case backlog to 40 and 350 respectively. The lab has a current average yearly turnaround time of 80 for all case types (it is approximately one month for homicides and sexual assaults) and a backlog of 722. The FY16 DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction program proposal aims to achieve productivity and timeliness of DNA testing by focusing on the following actions:(1) Increase available staff hours through overtime, purchase of supplies and continue to fund previous grant-funded staff; and, (2 Support current service contracts to cover the iDashboard and Genemarker software.

The goal is to reduce backlog and turnaround time by half within the 24 months of this grant period through process improvements and continued overtime and supplies funding.
nca/ncf