A state database is still missing about 20,000 DNA samples from convicted felons that could be key to solving crimes.
A state database is still missing about 20,000 DNA samples from convicted felons that could be key to solving crimes. Authorities say efforts to collect samples continue to lag — eight years after Illinois started requiring convicted felons to submit DNA. There’s some good news, though. The backlog stood at an estimated 50,000 as recently as September, and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett says the effort is clearly making progress. Birkett wrote the state law that requires every felon sentenced since Aug. 22, 2002, to submit DNA to state and national crime databases. Illinois State Police Sgt. Juan Valenzuela says the state database has grown to nearly 400,000 samples so far and has generated some 10,000 "hits" in investigations. Police don’t keep stats on how many of the hits lead to arrests, charges or convictions. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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