Violent criminals remain on the streets because the District does not have its own forensic lab and instant access to the FBI’s national DNA database, according to D.C. leaders who testified before Congress Friday.
“I know it can be frustrating for a crime victim in D.C. to be told that forensic analysis on their case may be delayed because the FBI crime lab is focusing on other priorities,” said D.C. police Chief Charles Ramsey. “But that’s the reality.”
The District is close to finalizing a location for its own $253 million crime lab and is asking the federal government to pay for a third of the construction costs. The D.C. Council last month approved an $11.5 million contract for architects to draw up plans.
With tens of thousands of people pouring into D.C. from Virginia, Maryland and around the world each day, crime in D.C. “is a national concern, not just local,” said Rep. Tom Davis, R.-Va., chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform.
The District sends forensic evidence — hair and fibers, blood spatter and DNA analysis — to the FBI lab 45 miles south in Quantico, Va., where it’s put into the mix with the FBI’s own cases from around the country. Thirty percent of the FBI’s workload comes from D.C., and because the FBI has its own priorities, the FBI generally conducts DNA analysis only after an arrest has been made.
Since Sept. 11, the FBI Laboratory is focused on counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein said.
Unlike forensic-detective TV shows like “CSI,” it’s rare when law enforcement authorities in the nation’s capital are able to make use of DNA analysis during investigations, Wainsein said.
