Preliminary findings and next steps are reported on a landscape study and root-cause analysis related to 1) identifying factors that may result in potential barriers in the collection, testing, and uploading of DNA arrestee and convicted-offender samples; and 2) identifying successful policies and highlighting key recommendations and suggested best practices related to the collection, testing, and uploading of these DNA samples.
Although many jurisdictions have policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the collection, testing, and uploading of lawfully owed DNA samples in compliance with legislation, it is possible that gaps in design and overall disconnects in communication and data workflow may result in the inability to comply with the provisions of the legislation. This preliminary report indicates that the project has used a comprehensive database on lawfully owned DNA legislation produced by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National network. The legislation has been grouped by every state regarding type of mandated DNA collection, when a sample is collected, the agency responsible for collection, and the agency responsible for DNA data management. Interviews were conducted with representatives from several state district attorney’s offices and state crime laboratories. In the project’s next steps, phone interviews will be conducted with representatives of submitting agencies to obtain a comprehensive perspective of policies related to DNA sample collection; and on-site visits will be conducted to further identify and discuss issues and solutions with DNA sample collection, submission, tracking, and expungement.