California Among 10 States Sharing Genetic Mug Book
When the first national DNA crime databank goes on line this year, law enforcement agencies from 10 states will be able to share a genetic mug book of convicted felons.
Crime labs in these states use standards for genetic testing that were established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so they have been chosen to take part in the pilot project.
It is a test run of a system that someday, if all goes well, will link police departments and crime labs everywhere.
The project is called the National DNA Identification Index, and FBI officials hope to have it running by next December. When that happens, investigators will use FBI-designed software to dial into a data base stored on a desktop computer at FBI headquarters in Washington.
Agencies participating are the Washington State Patrol, the Oregon State Police, the California Department of Justice, the Orange County Sheriff’s office in California, the Washoe County Sheriff’s office in Nevada, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Virginia Division of Forensic Science, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Metro Date Police Department in Florida, the Broward County Sheriff’s office in Florida, the Illinois State Police, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.
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