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PA 96-1011:Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act
Cecilia DoyleIllinois State Police
April 29, 2015
Background
» Early 2009 ˃ Human Rights Watch (HRW) FOIA requests˃ Queried 264 state & local LEA in Illinois; 127 responded˃ Said 7,494 SA kits collected over 15 years˃ Only 1,474 (19.7%) “confirmed” by LEA as tested, but admittedly
ineffective tracking
˃ Media inquiries, stories˃ Queried LEA from most populated IL cities, with only about 82 responding
˃ Responding LEAs reported approx. 4,000 unsubmitted SA kits
» ISP estimated there are 1,200 LEAs in Illinois, so…if 82 have 4,000, what would 1,200 have????
Background
» Late 2009˃ ISP, Attorney General staff, Cook County SAO, Bolingbrook
PD, others meet˃ Legislation drafted
» 2010 ˃ SB3269 filed February 2010˃ The Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act, signed July
6, 2010 (Public Act 96-1011), eff. September 1, 2010˃ HRW Report issued July 2010
The Act
» Section 5 . Definitions: ˃ “Sexual assault evidence” means evidence collected in connection
with a sexual assault investigation, including, but not limited to, evidence collected using the State Police Evidence Collection Kits.
» Section 10. Submission of Evidence» Applies to current and future cases
» LEAs that receive SA evidence in connection with the investigation of a criminal case on or after September 1, 2010 must submit evidence from the case within 10 business days of receipt to an ISP lab or other approved lab.
Section 20
» Section 20. Inventory of evidence.
» Applies to “older” cases collected before August 2010
» By October 15, 2010 each Illinois LEA shall provide written notice to ISP stating the number of SA cases in the custody of the LEA that have not been previously submitted to a lab for analysis.
» Within 180 days of the Act (March 2011), appropriate arrangements shall be made between the lab and the LEA to ensure all cases that are, or were at the time of collection, the subject of a criminal investigation, are submitted to the lab.
Section 20
» By February 15, 2011, the ISP shall submit to the Governor, the Attorney General, and both houses of the General Assembly a plan for analyzing cases submitted pursuant to this Section.
» Should the ISP determine it necessary to outsource the analysis of Section 20 cases, all cases are exempt from the provisions of subsection (n) of Section 5-4-3 of the Unified Code of Corrections. (Law that states each SAO would have to agree to outsourcing cases from their county.)
The Act
» Section 15. Analysis of evidence.» All SA evidence submitted pursuant to Section 10…shall be analyzed
within 6 months after receipt of all necessary evidence and standards by the lab if sufficient staffing & resources available.
» Section 25. Failure of a law enforcement agency to submit the sexual assault evidence.
» Even if LEA fails to submit within 10 days – can still submit, analyze & upload.
» Section 30. Required certification.» Each submission accompanied by the following signed certification:˃ “This evidence is being submitted by (name of investigating law
enforcement agency) in connection with a prior or current criminal investigation.”
The Act
» Section 35. Expungement.» If the ISP receives written confirmation from the
investigating LEA or SAO that a DNA record uploaded pursuant to this Act was not connected to a criminal investigation, the DNA record shall be expunged from the DNA database and written confirmation sent to the submitting LEA.
» Section 45. Rules.» The ISP shall promulgate rules that prescribe the
procedures for the operation of this Act, including expunging a DNA record.
ISP Actions
» To determine Section 20 impact, ISP established mechanisms for agencies to submit inventory list of such SA cases in their custody by October 15, 2010 and notified agencies.
ISP Actions
» The ISP then distributed each agency’s confirmed list to the forensic lab to which the agency would normally submit cases.
» Each lab would then clarify information and resolve questions with the agency, as necessary.
The ISP Plan
For Section 10 cases: » Analyze using in-house resources (ISP forensic
scientists), not outsourcing.
» Timely analysis through efficiency measures implemented over past several years (e.g., robotics) as well as the implementation of new technologies to save time/costs.
» Continued use of federal grant funding for FB/DNA case backlog reduction through the use of overtime and the purchase of additional commodities and equipment.
The ISP Plan
Resources needed» Headcount – 5 FB/DNA forensic scientists
» Funding˃ 5 forensic scientists = $407,500 including salary/fringes (2012 #s)˃ No other funds requested at the time. For the estimated $2.6 mil
outsourcing costs, ISP will utilize: Current/future federal DNA grants State Offender DNA Identification System Fund
The ISP Plan
For Section 20 cases:» Outsourcing to fullest extent possible » Est. 4,000 cases submitted/analyzed using following
approach:˃ TIER ONE - Offense dates of 2000 and 2001 (approximately 325 cases).
Analyzed in-house in a priority order established by the ISP, designed to meet a 10-year statute of limitations guideline for uploading resulting DNA profiles into CODIS.
˃ TIER TWO –Offense dates of 1999 and earlier (approximately 460 cases). About 93% will be outsourced; the remainder, due to type of evidence in the case, are ineligible for outsourcing and will be analyzed in-house.
˃ TIER THREE – Offense dates of 2002 through 2010 (approximately 3,250 cases). Also prioritized in accordance with statute of limitations guideline for CODIS upload. Intent to outsource appropriate cases, while analyzing a small percentage in-house due to type of evidence in case.
The ISP Plan
Timeline for Analysis» Section 10 immediately incorporated into the analytical
schedule of the laboratory per current practice. » Section 20 cases will be addressed as follows:
˃ January, 2011 – Request Tier One and Tier Two cases from agencies. In-house analysis of Tier One cases. Those Tier Two cases which are ineligible for outsourcing will also be analyzed in-house, immediately after the Tier One cases.
˃ By June 30, 2011 - Begin outsourcing Tier Two cases, with about 300 cases to be outsourced each quarter thereafter.
˃ By December 1, 2011 -Begin requesting Tier Three cases from agencies. In-house analysis of these cases will begin immediately after the Tier One and Tier Two in-house analyses are completed.
˃ By early 2012 – Begin outsourcing eligible Tier Three cases immediately after the outsourced Tier Two cases are finished. At the rate of about 300 cases outsourced per quarter, all outsourcing of Tier Three cases is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2014.
The ISP Reality
Section 10 Cases» The case backlog as a whole was impacted by
this project, negatively affecting our ability to provide timely analysis.
» The requested 5 additional headcount was not received.
» Continued use of federal funding for FB/DNA case backlog reduction through overtime and the purchase of additional commodities and equipment.
The ISP Reality
Section 20 Cases» Outsourcing began in March 2011 and was
completed in November 2013, more than one year ahead of schedule.
» 75-80% of these cases required DNA analysis.» Total cost of outsourcing was over $3.3M.» Funding source = General Revenue
appropriations and federal DNA grants.
As of November 30,2013
Section 20 Cases for ISP laboratories:» Inventory lists were required from 986 LEA» Inventory lists were submitted by 943 LEA (96%
compliance)» Cases reported to be submitted = 4,138» Cases received = 4,138
˃ Outsourced to vendor lab = 3,513 (85%)˃ Worked by ISP labs = 529 (13%)˃ Cases cancelled due to administrative reasons = 96 (2%)
» Cases completed = 4,042» CODIS HITS = 927
The ISP Reality
» Upon completion of the Section 20 backlog, ISP no longer tracks submission of newly discovered old cases not previously submitted.
» CODIS hits for Section 20 cases are also no longer tracked.
Lessons learned
» Be involved in drafting legislation
» Get as much info as possible from LEAs
» Communicate, communicate, communicate
» Develop a plan, consider worst-case
» Be flexible
» Keep the focus on the ultimate goal - justice
More Info…
» For PA 96-1011 & Administrative Rules -Go to www.ilga.gov˃ Search “Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act” for rules
» For ISP Information – Go to www.isp.state.il.us Under “Forensics” find:˃ PA 96-1011 Plan (includes DuPage Co FSC and NIRCL plans)˃ Case submission guidelines for ISP laboratories˃ Certification form for submitting sexual assault cases˃ Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act (PA 96-1011) Section 20 Final
Report
Questions?
» Contact Information –
Program Manager Brenda DanoskyIllinois State Police, Forensic Sciences [email protected]
Biology/DNA Section Chief Cecilia DoyleIllinois State Police, Forensic Science Center at [email protected]
