This fact sheet from the Office of Justice Programs presents information on the problem that crime laboratories are facing regarding the backlog of forensic evidence that is awaiting testing.
Basic facts from this fact sheet regarding the backlog of DNA awaiting testing include: of more than 2,000 agencies sampled, 14 percent of unsolved homicide cases, 18 percent of unsolved rape cases, and 23 percent of unsolved property crimes contained unanalyzed forensic evidence; since 2005, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has provided funding to test approximately 1.8 million DNA samples taken from convicted offenders and arrestees; and 99 percent of publicly funded crime laboratories reported they would not have sufficient funding to analyze forensic evidence if NIJ grants were no longer available. This fact sheet from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) examines the problem that law enforcement faces regarding the backlog of forensic evidence awaiting analysis by crime laboratories. The fact sheet discusses the two different kinds of DNA backlogs found in crime laboratories: forensic evidence that has been submitted for testing and is awaiting processing, and forensic evidence collected and stored by law enforcement agencies that has not yet been sent for testing. Also discussed are two programs offered by NIJ to reduce the DNA backlog in crime laboratories: the Convicted Offender/Arrestee DNA Backlog Reduction Program and the Convicted Offender/Arrestee Backlog Reduction Outsourcing Program. Both programs provide funds to crime laboratories to help them reduce the backlog of forensic evidence that is awaiting analysis.