DNA Testing for Law Enforcement (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 19, 2007 |
| Report Number |
RL32247 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Nathan James, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence has been an important tool in law enforcement. DNA analysis has significantly changed the way crime scenes are investigated and how prosecutions are conducted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started its DNA database in 1988. Since then, the FBI has led law enforcement agencies throughout the United States to standardize DNA analyses to be submitted into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The collection of DNA for use in criminal investigations has grown much faster than the resources to analyze it. As a result, many publicly funded laboratories across the country have been experiencing difficulty in meeting the demand and reducing the backlog of requests. Meanwhile, state and federal statutory regulations have been enacted to require DNA samples to be taken from those convicted of certain criminal offenses. During the 1990s and more recently, Congressional concern over the need for federal assistance to crime labs led to the enactment of several measures.
