DNA Data Bank Oversight Panel
Minutes of meeting of March 9, 2022 meeting
The meeting convened at 9:30 a.m.
Participating in the meeting were Sevasti Papakanakis, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Carl Ladd, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Daniel Renstrom, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Megan Olt, DESPP-Forensic Lab; David Maiga, Department of Correction; Elizabeth Tugie, DOC; Regina Hebert, Judicial; Luke Larue, CSP-SONRA; Phil Chappell; CSP-SONRA; Kathleen Ayers, DESPP-Legal; Matthew Reed, DESPP-Legal; Robert Meredith, Innocence Project; Robert Dearington, Office of the Attorney General; Lisamarie Prosino, Office of the Attorney General; John Doyle, Division of Criminal Justice; Michael Gailor, Division of Criminal Justice.
The minutes of the meeting on December 8, 2021, were unanimously approved.
The lab reported that as of March 1, 2022, a total of 130,402 convicted offender samples have been submitted to the lab; 434 since December 1, 2021. Of these samples, 7275 were determined to be duplicate submissions. One hundred twenty two thousand seven hundred fifty-eight are searching in CODIS. Approximately 280 convicted offender samples are waiting to be processed/entered into CODIS. There are 18,450 profiles in the Forensic Index. The backlog of forensic cases includes eight hundred nine assigned to DNA. The lab reported that 8,826 investigations have been aided so far by 9005 confirmed hits. Approximately 90 candidate matches are under evaluation. The average time it takes to send out notification of the hit once it has been obtained is twenty days.
The Judicial Department reported that from October through December 2021 it sent 288 initial and 166 warning letters to individuals whose sentences included a period of probation to remind them of their obligation to provide DNA samples. Judicial sent 51 initial and 37 warning letters to individuals who were not sentenced to a period of probation. Judicial collected 269 samples during that time period. Judicial sent 3 requests for warrants to the State Police for individuals who failed to provide a sample and requested the Department of Corrections collect five samples.
The Department of Correction reported that it has collected 257 samples from inmates in the year to date. Currently, 95 inmates have refused to provide a sample in violation of the statutes. They have 101 inmates from which samples need to be taken.
The Sexual Offender Registration Unit of the DESPP reported that from September 1, 2021 and December 1, 2021, it registered 67 new sexual offenders, while the Deadly Weapon Offender Registration Unit has registered 102 new offenders. The Sexual Offender Registration Unit collected 22 samples while the Deadly Weapon Offender Registration Unit collected 3 samples.
The Committee expressed its appreciation to David Maiga, Carll Ladd, and Robert Dearington for their contributions to the Oversight Panel and the people of the State of Connecticut. At 9:59 a.m., the Committee went into executive session. The executive session was concluded at 10:12 a.m. As a result of the discussion that took place in executive session, the following actions are being taken: Sample 3-9-22 A – The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-22 B – The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-2021 C –. The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-22 D – The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-22 E – The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-22 F - The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank and the sample destroyed. Sample 3-9-22 G - The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank. Sample 3-9-22 H - The information relating to this profile will be purged from the data bank.
The meeting was concluded at 10:13 a.m.