LAPD Needs $9.3M to Clear Up DNA Backlog
Los Angeles police are facing a severe budget shortfall and need $9.3 million to complete testing on a backlog of DNA evidence that could shed light on hundreds of sexual assault cases and other violent crimes, according to a state audit.
Voters in 2004 expanded California’s DNA database, which was supposed to be supported by a special court fee, the Los Angeles Times (reg. req.) reports.
But the L.A. Police Department collected only $530,000 from court fees during the past three years. That was for DNA collection from felons. No dollars came to analyze crime scene evidence, the Times reports.
Evidence from 6,700 sexual assault cases remains in storage. Some of those cases involve confessions, making the immediacy of DNA analysis less necessary. But the Times reports that the logjam is frustrating for a public expecting CSI-style efficiency and because police have found that in 37 percent of cases involving DNA, there is a hit with the FBI or national DNA databank.
