NCJ Number
201489
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 28 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2003 Pages: 8-21
Date Published
July 2003
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a study about DNA testing in 46 United States correctional systems.
Abstract
In 2001, Corrections Compendium reported on a survey of DNA testing within 42 United States correctional systems. The report noted that Florida had created a law opening a 2-year window for inmates to request DNA testing. The move was expected to increase DNA testing in correctional facilities across the country. Results of the current survey revealed that DNA testing of inmates has not increased as expected. While 42 of the 46 States mandate such testing, many limit the required testing to certain classifications of inmates, such as only juvenile offenders who are charged as adults. The article offers a brief narrative of the specific survey results from the 46 States and then offers a series of tables, which provide State-by-State data concerning testing components, staffing and operations, population and numbers, and legalities. Each State has its own qualifications for inmate DNA testing; for example, in 80 percent of the surveyed States, offenders under the age of 18 are automatically offered DNA testing if they are convicted as adults. Sex offender DNA testing is mandatory in 67 percent of the States, while 43 percent of States mandate DNA testing for stalkers. New Hampshire and North Carolina are currently considering bills that will significantly increase the numbers of inmates tested. Moves in these two States may impact the rest of the Nation’s laws governing DNA testing of inmates.