Link: http://www.digitalarchives.wa.

gov/governorlocke/protect/
dna.htm
MLA Citation: "Increasing the Reach of DNA Technology." Catching
Criminals with DNA Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

A 1997 MURDER IN KING COUNTY IS SOLVED when evidence from the

scene matches the DNA of a sex offender convicted in 1986. A 1993
rape in Arizona is solved when evidence matches the DNA of a man
convicted of assault in Washington in 1995.
DNA from a Tacoma rape matches DNA from a rape in Phoenix, and
both samples match the DNA of a felon convicted in Arizona.
Evidence from a rape in Spokane matches to a felon convicted of
robbery last year.
These and other cases could not be solved using traditional
investigative methods. But they have been solved in the past year,
using new technology to match evidence samples from unsolved
cases against DNA databanks maintained by the State Patrol Crime
Laboratory and the FBI.
Increasing the Reach of DNA Technology
DNA matching is proving to be one of the most potent weapons in
our law enforcement arsenal. Governor Gary Locke
Only violent and sex offenders must now provide DNA samples to the
Crime Lab. The Governor's 2002 legislation requires additional
samples from adults and juveniles convicted of any felony, plus
misdemeanor stalking, harassment or communicating with a minor
for immoral purposes. Correctional staff will obtain saliva swabs,
instead of the blood samples now required at much higher cost. The
Crime Lab will store the samples and contract to enter them into the
databank as federal funding becomes available. The databank
may be accessed only for criminal investigations, identifying bodies,
and finding missing persons.
A Powerful Weapon Against Crime
Washington's DNA databank includes more than 33,000 DNA profiles
of violent and sex offenders convicted since 1990. Recent advances
in DNA identification science allow much more rapid and accurate
matching of evidence from crime scenes to these databanks.

With the help of a federal grant, Washington's Crime Lab has

converted its databank to the new short tandem repeat (STR)
technology, and entered the samples into the FBI's Combined DNA
Index System (CODIS). This system contains more than 460,000
samples from 34 states - to be used by law enforcement agencies
nationwide. Another result of STR conversion was the identification of
a suspect in some of the notorious Green River murders of the 1980s.
New Technology Breaks More Cold Cases
In the first 10 years of Washington's databank, there were seven
cold hits to match crime scene evidence to offenders after
traditional investigative methods had failed to identify a suspect. In
2001 alone, using the new STR matching, there have been 25 such
cold hits criminals who would not have been caught without
this new tool.
DNA evidence most often appears in violent crimes like homicide
and rape, so it makes sense to give priority to violent and sex
offenders in collecting samples for possible future matching. But
people with prior convictions for nonviolent crimes also commit
violent offenses. For example, nine percent of drug and property
offenders released from prison are back in prison within five years for
violent or sex crimes. The State of Virginia found that 85 percent of
hits from its all-felon database would have been missed if the
data were limited to violent and sex offenders.
The Power of DNA Matching Will Only Grow
As the databank expands, DNA matching will become an ever
more powerful weapon against crime. Law enforcement will
increasingly be able to identify suspects from biological evidence at
crime scenes, saving investigative time and protecting innocent
people from suspicion. When DNA evidence is properly handled and
stored, it is well accepted by courts, and used to convict the guilty
and free the innocent.
More DNA Samples Help Solve Crimes
Expanding the DNA Databank
Governor Locke won and signed legislation in March 2002 to better
harness the power of DNA identification tools by:
Requiring all convicted adult and juvenile felons who are sentenced

to confinement to provide DNA samples.

Providing additional in state funds for the state Crime Lab to collect
and store samples.
Obtaining available federal funds to enter the samples in state and
national DNA databanks.
Charging convicted adult felons a fee to help defray the cost of the
databank.