DNA entry backlog tops 6,000 at state lab in Idaho

IDAHO FALLS – There are more than 6,000 DNA samples from convicted felons in Idaho waiting to be processed and entered in state and national DNA Index Systems, an Idaho State Police official says.

Forensic Services Quality Manager Matthew Gamette said the backlog at the Idaho State Lab includes samples dating back to 2006.

“We’re doing all we can to maximize the system,” Gamette told the Idaho Falls Post Register. “We’re trying to do what we can to throw as many resources as we can at the database.”

He said there’s only one DNA analyst, though sometimes additional help is available from other analysts. Another analyst was hired two months ago with federal stimulus money, but Gamette said the analyst needs six months of training before entering DNA samples.

The backlog could delay solving a crime or exonerating an innocent person.

“A rape victim has no hope of finding a DNA match if the offender’s profile is not in that (DNA Index System) database,” said Greg Hampikian, Idaho Innocence Project director.

Gamette said the ISP has received about $160,000 in each of the last two years from the DNA Backlog Reduction Program run by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. He said that money has been used to buy equipment to increase how many samples can be processed.

Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said the state is doing what it can with the money it has.

“We have a lot of people that are more than willing to increase the funding level,” Davis said. “But, just right now, the state doesn’t have the money.”