***TODAY***

GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY TO JOIN PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS TO
ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT NEW MILESTONES IN DNA PROGRAM

ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 6, 2010) – Governor Martin O’Malley will join Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, III; Terry Long, Director of the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division; and Baltimore City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young today to announce the achievement of significant new milestones in the effectiveness of Maryland’s DNA collection program since reforms implemented under the O’Malley-Brown Administration.

Governor O’Malley has championed the use of innovative technology in making Maryland neighborhoods safer, including using DNA evidence to convict violent offenders. Upon taking office, Governor O’Malley inherited a shameful backlog of 24,000 DNA samples that had not been entered in the State’s database, representing potentially hundreds of offenders walking the streets unnecessarily. Tomorrow, Governor O’Malley will announce the achievement of a significant new milestone in the effort to clean up that backlog, and enhance local and state police use of the DNA database.