The Federal Bureau of Investigation is giving short shrift to processing DNA from missing persons cases, taking as long as two years to handle profiles, according to a Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report.

Overall, about 40 percent of the FBI's backlog of processing 3,200 DNA profiles stems from missing persons cases, according to Monday's report.

"The FBI Laboratory's low prioritization of these cases (.pdf) can have a broader effect because many missing persons are victims of homicide," the report said. "Therefore, even if a perpetrator is not identified, DNA profiles from crime scenes could be uploaded and potentially linked to each other in CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), thereby aiding homicide investigations and potentially leading to the identification of a suspect."

What's more, under the bureau's current processing rate for all DNA cases, the "backlog would require about 2 years to complete, even without the addition of any new cases," the report said. Part of the problem is the "absence of a modern laboratory information management system," according to the report.

"Backlogs can also prevent the timely capture of criminals, prolong the incarceration of innocent people who could be exonerated by DNA evidence, and adversely affect families of missing persons waiting for positive identification of remains," the report added.

The report comes amid a constitutional showdown in California involving DNA collection. The Golden State, with similar laws in about 21 states, requires the taking of a DNA sample from every adult arrested on felony accusations. The American Civil Liberties Union claims such DNA sampling of arrestees is an unconstitutional search and privacy breach resulting in a California DNA database of 1.5 million people, whose profiles are to be uploaded to CODIS.

The CODIS system enables local, state and national law enforcement crime laboratories to compare DNA profiles electronically. As of April, there were more than 8.5 million profiles in CODIS.

A federal appeals court is weighing the ACLU challenge and could rule any time.

External influences usually determine the order in which DNA cases are analyzed by the FBI laboratory. For example, upcoming trial dates, media attention and FBI Director Robert Mueller's priorities are the primary influence on case completion, the report said. Mueller's priorities, the report said, include "counterterrorism, intelligence, cyber-based/high technology crimes, public corruption, civil rights, major white-collar crimes and significant violent crime."

The report also "determined that the absence of a modern laboratory information management system at the FBI laboratory has hindered its ability to keep pace with the demand for its services."

Since September 2003, the report notes, the FBI has spent more than $10 million on developing a laboratory information management system, which is still under development.

"The FBI Laboratory is incapable of generating an electronic chain-of-custody document, tracking laboratory-wide evidence work flows, and producing laboratory-wide statistical reports to identify problems and delays," the report said.

Photo: ynse/Flickr

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