TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said Wednesday that a backlog in processing DNA samples through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has been subsided.
During a press conference Wednesday, Six said that the backlog has been reduced by 70 percent and will be eliminated entirely by February 2011.
“An issue local prosecutors and law enforcement officials brought to me time and time again is the delay in processing DNA samples that are crucial to bringing criminals to justice,” said Six.
He said that, by eliminating the backlog, more forensic scientists with the KBI will be able to focus on new DNA samples as they are submitted by state and local law enforcement.
“Working closely with the KBI, I made eliminating the backlog of DNA arrestee samples a top priority,” Six said. “Being able to address this issue at a time when the lab is receiving more samples than ever is a tremendous accomplishment.”
Part of the downturn in the KBI’s backlog is traced back to budget requests from the agency.
For the 2011 budget, the KBI asked for a $250,000 increase in lab equipment funding. In addition. Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson asked for an additional $1,080,630 from the state general fund to assist with clearing out the agency’s DNA testing backlog. The additional funding in 2011 was meant to assist in purchasing computer and software licenses as well as helping to outsource some of those samples.
In September, 2009, there were over 38,000 DNA arrestee samples awaiting processing by lab workers at the KBI.
Despite an ever increasing workload, including an extra 11,277 samples received over the past 11 months, the KBI has been able to reduce that backlog by 70 percent to 11,318 samples.
By maintaining their current pace, Six said the KBI will eliminate the backlog by at least February 2011.
“We approached this problem from two sides,” said Six. “First, we met with the KBI and worked closely with them to evaluate their needs then put their recommendations in place so that the increase in new samples could be addressed alongside efforts to eliminate the backlog. Second, we put pressure on the legislature to provide funding that allowed the KBI to upgrade their equipment.”
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TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said Wednesday that a backlog in processing DNA samples through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has been subsided.
During a press conference Wednesday, Six said that the backlog has been reduced by 70 percent and will be eliminated entirely by February 2011.
“An issue local prosecutors and law enforcement officials brought to me time and time again is the delay in processing DNA samples that are crucial to bringing criminals to justice,” said Six.
He said that, by eliminating the backlog, more forensic scientists with the KBI will be able to focus on new DNA samples as they are submitted by state and local law enforcement.
“Working closely with the KBI, I made eliminating the backlog of DNA arrestee samples a top priority,” Six said. “Being able to address this issue at a time when the lab is receiving more samples than ever is a tremendous accomplishment.”
Part of the downturn in the KBI’s backlog is traced back to budget requests from the agency.
For the 2011 budget, the KBI asked for a $250,000 increase in lab equipment funding. In addition. Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson asked for an additional $1,080,630 from the state general fund to assist with clearing out the agency’s DNA testing backlog. The additional funding in 2011 was meant to assist in purchasing computer and software licenses as well as helping to outsource some of those samples.
In September, 2009, there were over 38,000 DNA arrestee samples awaiting processing by lab workers at the KBI.
Despite an ever increasing workload, including an extra 11,277 samples received over the past 11 months, the KBI has been able to reduce that backlog by 70 percent to 11,318 samples.
By maintaining their current pace, Six said the KBI will eliminate the backlog by at least February 2011.
“We approached this problem from two sides,” said Six. “First, we met with the KBI and worked closely with them to evaluate their needs then put their recommendations in place so that the increase in new samples could be addressed alongside efforts to eliminate the backlog. Second, we put pressure on the legislature to provide funding that allowed the KBI to upgrade their equipment.”
