Community Funded Reporting
Justin McLachlan  |  10 Nov 2009

The cost of the DNA backlog



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A year ago, the LA City Auditor reported that the backlog of DNA samples waiting to be tested by the Los Angeles Police Department had grown to nearly 7,000 with hundreds languishing beyond the legal deadlines.

This year, the LAPD says it reduced that backlog by nearly two-thirds, but they still have "a long way to go," according to the city controller.

In the meantime, accused rapists have escaped prosecution. Victims have lost their chance for justice. What's been the cost of this backlog?

How will it help?

This story will ask and try to answer the following questions

  1. How did the backlog get so bad and so large?
  2. How is the problem being dealt with?
  3. Has the backlog caused any damage (ie, prosecutions lost, reputation of the justice system)?
  4. Can anyone do anything to repair that damage?



I trained in multi-media journalism and investigative reporting (specifically focused on the criminal justice system) at West Virginia University. My thesis project, Where Doubt Remains, was a finalist in the 2007 IRE Awards.

I expect this story will take several different forms, one being a more traditional text-based report and the other possibly being an audio report. I expect this story will take several months -- most of which will be used to review court files and collect public documents.

This story has been published:

The cost of the DNA backlog

by Justin McLachlan | 23 Mar 2010 | la
It all comes down to the money. In 2008, the Los Angeles city controller audited the Los Angeles Police Department after news broke that the agency lost $500,000 in federal grant money to help it reduce a backlog of forensic rape kits waiting for DNA testing. The Department of Justice reduced the funding amount following the LAPD’s failure to spend it due to what the audit called “poor planning and oversight.”  Meanwhile, 7,000 rape kits sat in storage freezers for…
Read the published story
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