The alaska scientific crime detection laboratory (akscdl), a division of the alaska department of public safety, is solely responsible for analyzing evidentiary material associated with criminal…

This $600,000 Formula Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program (CFDA 16.036) supports the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (AKSCDL), a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The funding will be used to enhance the AKSCDL's DNA testing capabilities, process DNA evidence, and reduce backlogs to support criminal investigations and prosecutions across the state.

Specifically, the grant will provide supplies to analyze at least 499 forensic biology casework requests and 1,853 DNA database samples. This will help the AKSCDL, which is the sole forensic lab providing DNA analysis in Alaska, to maintain quality assurance and meet turnaround time goals of under 60 days for casework and 90 days for database samples. The award will also fund annual pipette calibrations to ensure the lab's continued accreditation and capabilities. This federal funding will help alleviate the significant operational costs associated with the AKSCDL's large DNA unit and high volume of DNA analysis requests, particularly for sexual assault cases.

The alaska scientific crime detection laboratory (akscdl), a division of the alaska department of public safety, is solely responsible for analyzing evidentiary material associated with criminal investigations statewide. Pursuant to AS44.41.035, the akscdl is also the agency responsible for conducting analysis on DNA samples collected from qualifying convicted offenders and arrestees in the state, and for storing and maintaining the resultant profiles in the state DNA index system. Nearly one-third of the laboratorys forensic cases are submitted for DNA analysis, with over one thousand requests submitted in calendar year 2023. Two-thirds of cases submitted for DNA testing included a sexual assault offense. Due to test all sexual assault kit legislation enacted in january 2020, the lab has experienced an increase in DNA testing requests in recent years. The increase in cases is anticipated to continue as new legislation enacted in january 2023 expanded the scope of chargeable offenses by removing the requirement for an element of force. As the only forensic laboratory providing DNA analysis in the state of alaska, the akscdl has the potential to be the rate limiting step in the criminal justice system for prosecuting these cases. The DNA unit is the largest in the laboratory, in number of staff. Coupled with the complex nature of DNA casework analysis and the volume of work submitted to the lab, the forensic biology unit continues to be significantly more expensive to operate than other laboratory disciplines. The federal funding from this award will help alleviate this burden by providing supplies for processing these cases, increasing the number of combined DNA index system eligible samples analyzed and reducing the backlog of forensic casework requests. Additionally, by funding annual pipette calibrations this award will assist the laboratory in maintaining current capabilities and meeting quality assurance requirements for accredited laboratories. With the supply funds requested under this award, the akscdl commits to the analysis of at least 499 forensic biology casework requests (at approximately $1,000/case) and 1,853 DNA database samples (at approximately $50/sample). The laboratory anticipates processing more cases and database samples than this during the award period with additional funds from the laboratory operating budget. The lab will continue to work towards achieving a consistent turnaround time of less than 60 days for forensic biology casework requests. The turnaround time for database analysis will continue to meet the statutory requirement of 90 days.