Heller urges Congress help ease FBI's DNA backlog

Spurred by the search for a serial rapist who killed a 19-year-old Reno woman, Rep. Dean Heller, of Carson City, urged Congress on Thursday to fully fund a Justice Department program aimed at processing a backlog of tens of thousands of DNA samples nationwide.

"Nevada, like many other states, has thousands of cases that need DNA evidence to be processed to solve crimes and prosecute criminals," said Heller, R-Nev.

"Fully funding this program could help solve tens of thousands of cases nationwide and bring closure to families across our country," he said in a statement from Washington D.C.

The backlog has drawn attention in Reno, where the murder of Brianna Denison has been tied by DNA evidence to sexually motivated attacks on at least two other women in the area in recent months.

Denison's body was found in a field on Feb. 15 with the DNA of her killer, but law enforcement agencies have no identity to go with the DNA sample.

When detectives learned that about 3,000 DNA samples from convicted offenders in Washoe County alone were waiting to be tested and entered into a national and state database, local citizens, business leaders and politicians contributed $150,000 to help address the backlog locally.

That backlog is due in part to the fact the Nevada Legislature passed a law last year that required DNA samples be taken from convicted criminals but provided no money to process them.

Nationally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) contains more than 5.2 million genetic profiles, but tens of thousands of samples are still awaiting processing.

Heller urged his colleagues in a letter on Thursday to provide the $151 million needed to fully fund the Justice Department's Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, which awards grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out DNA analysis, increase laboratory capacity and collect samples from violent offenders as required by law.

In past years, the program has been provided less than that that full level " $147 million in the current fiscal year, $112 million the year before and $108 million the year before that, an aide said.

"Maintaining proper resources for this program is critical for state and local agencies still seeking to bring their laboratories and personnel up to speed with the latest technology," Heller said.