Welcome to St. Mary's Today Online Edition!

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley pulls his own share of the effort of rowing, at least for the last mile of the trip into Annapolis Harbor. The Governor came along for a leg of the trip being made by the Capt. John Smith Shallop retracing the mapping trip made by the colonial explorer when he charted the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries. Photo by Governors' Office

State Police DNA Sampling Program

Cuts Backlogs, Racks Up Three Arrests

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 24, 2007) – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced Maryland’s success in reducing the number of untested and uncollected DNA samples from convicted felons, known as the DNA backlog, which had grown to over 24,000 by the end of 2006. Under the O’Malley-Brown Administration, the Maryland State Police has eliminated the number of samples waiting to be shipped to an outside vendor for analysis and is on pace to eliminate the DNA backlog by February 2008.

“Public safety is the most important responsibility our government has,” said Governor O’Malley. “By filling long-vacant positions, increasing funding and support for Maryland’s DNA crime lab, and bringing together those agencies responsible for public safety, we are giving our local and state police officers an essential tool to help protect our families and communities.”

Earlier this year, Governor O’Malley created DNAStat as part of StateStat to track the progress toward eliminating the DNA backlogs on a weekly, rather than yearly, basis.

To date, the Maryland State Police has cleared the backlog of 24,300 samples waiting to be sent to an outside vendor for analysis, and has increased the number of samples in the DNA database by 30%, from 28,567 in March, 2007 to 37,088 in June. In addition, this year, the number of positive DNA matches (or “hits”) is 162, including the 92 since DNAStat began, and the state police lab is on track to exceed the total of 220 for all of 2006.

The DNA lab has also uploaded nearly 10,000 samples this year – already breaking the 4,963 that were uploaded last year.

Under a new partnership between the Maryland State Police and Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, 97% of the 591 Division of Corrections inmates who owed DNA samples had their DNA collected, and at least 650 employees of the Division of Parole and Probation will be trained to collect DNA samples by the beginning of August. This is the result of new emergency regulations submitted by the O’Malley-Brown Administration and approved by the Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Committee to allow additions state personnel to take DNA samples.

“This year, we have made great strides to improve public safety in Maryland, and the DNA lab is a critical tool as we move forward,” said Col. Terrence Sheridan, Secretary of the Maryland State Police. “We could not have made this progress without the support of Secretary Maynard and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and we look forward to working together to improve public safety in Maryland.”

“We have a strong obligation to protect the citizens of Maryland,” said Gary Maynard, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. “By eliminating the DNA backlog and working together with the Maryland State Police, we are able to fulfill our core mission to safeguard the public.”

In addition to creating DNAStat and the new partnership between the Maryland State Police and Department of Public Safety, the State has invested significant resources in the Maryland State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, including:

· Hiring four more forensic scientists in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget, and approving overtime pay in the DNA lab.

· Increasing base salaries, which helped fill long-standing vacant positions in the DNA lab.

· Adding $800,000 to fund long-standing equipment needs; and

· Passing emergency regulations enabling additional state personnel to collect DNA samples.

Working with the General Assembly, Governor O’Malley also signed into law legislation to require the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to license, set standards and requirements for forensic laboratories in Maryland. It also requires that the Governor establish a Forensic Laboratory Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene on implementing the bill’s provisions. The appointments must be made by December 1, 2008.

In the past few months, Maryland has cleared a number of high-profile cases using DNA evidence obtained since the implementation of DNAStat. For example:

· On July 14, 2007, The Baltimore Sun reported on the case of a young woman, Lisa Barselou, found strangled in her Bolton Hill bathtub in 1989. The Baltimore cold case unit submitted DNA evidence to the Forensic Science Laboratory and received notice on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 that the DNA evidence matched DNA collected from an inmate in the custody of the Maryland Division of Corrections, who has since been charged with the murder.

· On June 29, 2007, The Baltimore Examiner reported on an arrest made in the 1987 rape of an on-duty security guard in Owings Mills. Baltimore County police submitted DNA evidence found during a 2005 review of the case to the Forensic Science Laboratory and received notice on Tuesday, July 26, 2007 that a match had been found. The suspect was arrested the next day.

· On July 24, 2007, The Baltimore Sun reported on an arrest made in a 1978 rape case in Baltimore County. The suspect had previously served time in jail, and was arrested without incident in his home in Westminster.