Look for Report on Lawfully Owed DNA Later in 2019

• NCJ Number: 253087
• Author(s): Becky Lewis
• Date Published: June 2019
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: A proposal to operate the National Criminal Justice Technology Resource Center.

Annotation

This article presents a preview of the recommendations of a report on a study conducted by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE), which is titled, “Recommendations for Improved Standard Operating Procedures to Collect, Track and Process Lawfully Owed DNA Samples.”

Abstract

The recommendations in the report are based on interviews with several criminal justice agencies responsible for the collection and processing of lawfully owed DNA samples, including representatives from courts and corrections, law enforcement, and crime laboratories. Three of the key recommendations of this study are presented and briefly discussed in this article. The full report is expected to be released in late summer 2019. One recommendation is to “create a process for effective communication and tracking regarding the submission of lawfully owed DNA samples by law enforcement agencies to crime laboratories.” The second recommendation is to “encourage crime laboratory representation at discussions that involve legislation pertaining to the collection and processing of lawfully owed DNA samples.” The third recommendations is to “appoint a crime laboratory liaison who will be the primary point of contact for collection agencies.” The report will be posted on the FTCoE website when available.