(Baltimore, MD) – State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence Sheridan today commended the Baltimore Police Department for its effective use of Marylands DNA database to fight serious crime in the city.
Colonel Sheridan announced that the Baltimore Police Department has made 101 arrests for serious crimes with the assistance of Marylands DNA database during the past three years. Those arrests have included 13 for murder, 68 for rape or sex offense, one for child abuse, one for assault, and 18 for burglary.
Reducing violent crime in Maryland is why we have worked so hard to make the states DNA database as effective as it can be, Colonel Sheridan said. By eliminating the offender sample backlog and passing legislation requiring persons arrested for violent crimes to submit samples, Marylands DNA database is operating more efficiently than ever before and is helping dedicated law enforcement personnel in Baltimore and across our State to unlock the secrets of crime scene evidence and bring those responsible for violent crime in Maryland to justice. I thank Governor Martin OMalley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown for making the DNA database a priority by providing the personnel, equipment, and support we needed to make it a crime fighting tool that is becoming more valuable each day.
For the past two years, Baltimore has experienced the lowest number of homicides in 20 years," said Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld, III. Continued investment in our DNA Lab is paying big dividends towards making Baltimore a safer city and I thank Col. Sheridan and Governor OMalley for their continued support and partnership.
In the fall of 2009, Marylands DNA database, housed at the State Police Forensic Sciences Division laboratory, surpassed the mark of 1,500 positive comparisons, or hits, as they are commonly referred to. A positive comparison occurs when DNA obtained from a crime victim or scene is matched with either a known offender sample or DNA from another crime scene that is on file in Marylands DNA database, or CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System, which enables access to the national database.
The rate at which positive DNA comparisons are now occurring is faster than ever before. Marylands DNA database was established by law in 1994 and the first positive comparison occurred in 1998. It was eight years later, in August 2006, when State Police scientists reached the 500th hit.
Twenty-three months later, Governor OMalley announced the 1,000th hit, in July 2008. Only 15 months later, another 500 positive comparisons were made, proving the database is more efficient than it has ever been.
According to the Governors Office of Crime Control and Prevention, 103 criminal arrests were made in 2009 as a result of 203 offender hits made through the DNA database during that same period. There are currently 82,906 offender samples and 4,213 arrested/charged samples in the statewide DNA database.
On January 1, 2009, legislation proposed and signed into law by Governor OMalley took effect that requires those arrested and charged with qualifying violent crimes, or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burglaries and attempts to commit those crimes, to submit a DNA sample. Since the beginning of this year, 37 positive comparisons have occurred as a result of the new law. This has a direct impact on crime because it gives police the ability to take criminals off the street sooner and before they can continue their criminal activities.
In January 2008, Governor OMalley announced the elimination of the backlog of untested and uncollected DNA samples from convicted felons that had grown to more than 24,000 by the end of 2006. The backlog elimination was the result of additional funding for new positions and new equipment provided by the Governor.
In addition to Governor OMalleys support, the success of the statewide DNA database is due to the hard work and cooperation of many individuals. They include the personnel of the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division and those in local police DNA laboratories, as well as the cooperative collection efforts by the Governors Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Department of Parole and Probation, sheriffs offices and detention centers across the state, and Marylands district and circuit court systems.
Last month, the Governors Office of Crime Control and Prevention awarded $375,000 to the Baltimore Police Department for its DNA lab. The money will assist in handling, screening, and analyzing backlogged forensic DNA casework samples, as well as with improving DNA laboratory infrastructure and capacity. This will include analyzing DNA contained in cold case files that will help bring criminals to justice who until now thought they had successfully avoided arrest.
The money was part of a $1.2 million grant award under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and made possible through the efforts of Senator Barbara Mikulski. Money was also provided to the Maryland State Police, Prince Georges County Police, and Montgomery County Police crime labs.
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