At last fall's groundbreaking ceremony for North Dakota's 7,300-square-foot crime laboratory, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said space at the existing facility was so "desperately" short, some staffers had resorted to "cutting mouse pads in half to make them fit." When the $5.3 million Bismarck facility is completed in October, the spacious quarters will easily accommodate the current staff, who soon will be asked to process and maintain an increasing amount of DNA. A rapid expansion of DNA sampling is corresponding with a building and hiring boom in North Dakota and other states to accommodate the collection of hundreds of thousands of new genetic profiles. Five states are slated to begin new sampling of suspects arrested for felony offenses between July and January 2009. Of those, North Dakota, California, Maryland and Kansas are spending millions of dollars to prepare for the additional testing. South Dakota, which will begin additional sampling in July, built a new lab in 2006. "It's a race against the clock," says Kristen Mahoney, executive director of Maryland's Office of Crime Control and Prevention. Maryland officials plan to spend about $1.7 million to hire more scientists and fund other start-up costs to help process 31,000 new profiles it expects to add in 2009, the first year of its expanded sampling program. During that first year, the state will contract the additional work to an outside agency until it completes its hiring of analysts, Mahoney said. After the first year, all of the extra work is expected to be performed at the state laboratory. In California, a $10 million laboratory expansion is scheduled for completion next month to house an estimated 1 million new DNA samples. Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, says state law requires anyone arrested for a felony to provide genetic material starting in January. At least 21 other states are considering various proposals to expand sampling to include felony suspects, according to DNAResource.com, which tracks DNA-related laws. Critics of increasing sampling The expanded sampling, once limited to convicted felons and sex offenders, has raised questions among civil liberties advocates about the potential for privacy incursions and whether states can handle the increased sampling load. "I wonder if the states have the resources and the ability to do this," says Jesselyn McCurdy, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "This is a criminal database initially reserved for people convicted of crimes." The DNA samples, which contain an individual's unique genetic code, are compared against nearly 4 million genetic profiles gleaned from crime scenes and other sources as part of a databank run by the FBI to help investigate crimes. The FBI says the system has aided more than 40,000 investigations since 1990. As thousands of new samples begin streaming into the system, additional analysts often are required to identify the genetic profiles and upload them to the FBI's national databank. Provisions in most of the new laws call for destroying samples if suspects are acquitted or charges are dropped. The responsibility for disposal also falls to the forensic laboratories. Laboratory officials say funding has not always kept pace with the expanding workload. "It is difficult to obtain funding to cover both the large numbers of the new cases that are being presented to our labs daily and the backlog of cases from the past that require timely review," Peter Marone, chairman of the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, told a House committee last week. Marone, who also is director of Virginia's Department of Forensic Science, said Virginia expanded its sampling in 2003 from convicted felons to include suspects arrested, but not tried, for seven felony offenses. Virginia lawmakers had prepared for the increased workload, Marone said, which adds about 4,000 samples a year to the database. If the state required sampling for all felony suspects, as is planned elsewhere, he added, "I don't think we could do it. … It sounds really good, but you have to know what you are getting into." New federal rules Last week, the federal government issued new rules for taking DNA samples from anyone arrested for a federal crime, including suspected immigration violators. The federal sampling program, which will take effect after a 30-day public comment period, is expected to add about 1 million new profiles when it is implemented, according to Justice Department estimates. The FBI provided an additional $2 million this year to accommodate the increased workload. In fiscal year 2009, which begins Oct. 1, the FBI has requested $20 million more and 36 new positions to assist with the work. In preparation for the start of its expanded sampling program in July, Kansas officials moved into an enlarged lab space two weeks ago, lab director Mike VanStratton said. The physical renovations cost about $375,000, and the tab doesn't include the five additional analysts, two technicians and equipment needed to process an estimated 20,000 new samples in the first year of the expanded program. "Our Legislature was well aware of the costs associated with taking on this type of evidence," VanStratton said. Enlarge By Rob Carr, AP Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley gestures on Jan. 10 during a news conference where he discussed how he wants to expand the use of DNA samples to fight crime. The news conference took place at the Maryland State Police forensic science laboratory in Pikesville. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. 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