SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Efforts by the Sheriff’s Crime Lab to battle a backlog in DNA analysis received an extra boost this year thanks to a $342,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice’s DNA Backlog Reduction Program.
The Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division successfully applied for the grant to fund extra, part-time staff and equipment needed to increase the efficiency and capacity of the Division’s Biology Unit.
“DNA evidence has proven to be a powerful, reliable crime fighting tool,” Supervising Criminalist of the Biology Unit Suzanne Harmon said. “As a result, the need to stay ahead of the backlog in DNA casework and continue processing DNA evidence in a timely manner has become increasingly important to the public safety of our community.”
There are two primary areas of DNA analysis. Both areas are supported by this grant. Casework involves evidence from an active criminal investigation or trial and is done in house by criminalists working for the Sheriff’s Forensic Science Division. The second area involves Convicted Offender Samples of individuals under supervision of the Department of Corrections. Convicted Offender samples are outsourced for analysis, then updated to a national database by Forensic Science Division staff.
Funds from the federal grant enabled the Biology Unit to hire an Investigative Assistant along with two Public Service Interns in January. These individuals will work in the unit for 18 months, performing administrative and technical assistance duties such as instrument maintenance and giving full-time analysts more time to concentrate on casework and database responsibilities. Funds will also be used to cover overtime and supply costs for analysts to process DNA cases over and above normal capacity, thereby reducing the casework backlog.
In addition, grant funds will be used for the analysis of convicted offender samples by an approved outsourcing laboratory, costs related to choosing a credible laboratory, plus any overtime necessary for reviewing the outsourced lab work and uploading to the national database after all quality control measures have been satisfied.
During the Brianna Denison investigation in 2008, the County faced a backlog of approximately 3,000 convicted offender samples. Thanks to generous donations from private businesses and members of the community, the Sheriff’s Crime Lab was able to process the entire backlog. Subsequently, DNA analysis played an important role in convicting suspect James Biela.
Since then, the Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division has received nearly $2 million in federal grants aimed at reducing the backlog and decreasing the turnaround time for DNA analysis. These grants have helped to expand lab areas with state of the art equipment and provide sufficient work areas for the proper analysis and review of casework.
“It’s all about efficiency,” Harmon said. “Public safety demands that we never go back to the days of an unmanageable backlog in our DNA program. To that end, we’ve been very fortunate to receive these grants.”
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division is a full-service forensic laboratory providing services to over 80 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in 14 Nevada counties. The Division provides investigative support with a full service crime scene unit and scientific disciplines such as DNA, Toxicology, Controlled Substances, Firearms and limited trace evidence analysis. The Breath Alcohol Section provides support for Breath Alcohol instruments across Northern Nevada. The Evidence Section houses all of Washoe County evidence as well as Forensic Science Division Evidence. For more information, visit www.washoesheriff.com.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office celebrated 150 years of proud service and community partnership in 2011. Sheriff Michael Haley is the 24th person elected to serve as the Sheriff of Washoe County. His office continues to be the only full service public safety agency operating within northern Nevada and is responsible for operating the consolidated detention facility, regional crime lab, Northern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center, Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, court security, service of civil process, traditional street patrols and Regional Animal Services.
