The FBI has approved changes to the Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) for Forensic Laboratories to allow DNA evidence profiles generated by Rapid DNA analysis to be searched against the national DNA database (CODIS).
On January 27, the QAS documents were posted on the website of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM), announcing that the new standards will have an effective date of July 1, 2025.
At least seven states (Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania) have already taken proactive steps to support criminal investigations by creating non-CODIS statewide programs to allow crime scene evidence tested on Rapid DNA instruments to be searched against their own state’s index of criminal offenders. The official guidance from the FBI and SWGDAM will allow these seven states, as well as all other states moving forward, to search the entire CODIS database. However, before having access to CODIS, law enforcement must work in partnership with public crime laboratories to develop requisite procedures.
“This is a major step forward. Crime lab outcomes are not only based on timely leads for the investigating agencies that we serve, but also potentially in lives saved,” said Dr. Ray Wickenheiser, retired New York State Police Crime Laboratory System Director, and Past President of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD). “Victims need justice. Families need answers. And time matters.”
We encourage all law enforcement to reach out to partners at public crime labs to discuss how to take advantage of this critical step forward. We encourage crime labs to initiate leadership discussions on how to establish this important service for the communities they serve.
Republished courtesy of GTH DNA