DNA Data Bank Oversight Panel (Draft)
Minutes of meeting of December 9, 2020 meeting

The meeting convened at 9:34 a.m.

Participating in the meeting were Kristin Sasinouski, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Carll Ladd, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Patricia Johannes, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Megan Olt, DESPP-Forensic Lab; Michael Aiello, Judicial; David Maiga, Department of Correction; Elizabeth Tugie, DOC; Robert Dearington, Office of the Attorney General; Janet Ainsworth, DESPP- Legal; Joseph Lopez, Office of the Public Defender; Robert Meredith, Innocence Project; John Doyle, Division of Criminal Justice, Michael Gailor, Division of Criminal Justice.

The minutes of the meeting on September 15, 2020, were unanimously approved.

The lab reported that as of December 1, 2020, a total of 128,400 convicted offender samples have been submitted to the lab; 360 since September 1, 2020. Of these samples, 7165 were determined to be duplicate submissions. One hundred twenty thousand nine hundred four have been profiled and reside in CODIS. Approximately 168 convicted offender samples are waiting to be processed/entered into CODIS. There are 17,061 profiles in the Forensic Index. The backlog of forensic cases includes six hundred seventy-three assigned to DNA. The lab reported that 7457 investigations have been aided so far by 7576 confirmed hits. Approximately 94 candidate matches are under evaluation. The average time it takes to send out notification of the hit once it has been obtained is sixteen days. The lab also reported that it will be undertaking a review to ensure that all cases that should be purged have been.

The Judicial Department reported that from July through September 2020 it sent 75 initial and 16 warning letters to individuals whose sentences included a period of probation to remind them of their obligation to provide DNA samples. Judicial sent 10 initial and 30 warning letters to individuals who were not sentenced to a period of probation. Judicial sent 6 requests for warrants to the State Police for individuals who failed to provide a sample and requested the Department of Corrections collect three samples.

The Department of Correction reported that it has collected 563 samples from inmates in the year to date. Currently, 103 inmates have refused to provide a sample in violation of the statutes. They have 54 inmates from which samples need to be taken.

While not attending, the Sexual Offender Registration Unit of the DESPP sent in a report noting that they have registered 86 new offenders, while the Deadly Weapon Offender Registration Unit has registered 116 new offenders, from June 1, 2020 through September 1, 2020. The Sexual Offender Registration Unit collected 26 samples while the Deadly Weapon Offender Registration Unit collected 9 samples.

The Committee set the following dates for meetings in 2021:

March 10, 2021
June 9, 2021
September 8, 2021
December 8, 2021

The Committee also expressed its appreciation for the contributions of Kristin Sasinouski and wished her well as she leaves the lab to pursue a new opportunity.

At 10:03 a.m., the Committee went into executive session. The executive session was concluded at 11:00 a.m. As a result of the discussion that took place in executive session, the following actions are being taken:

Sample 12-9-2020 A – Action taken on this was deferred for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee.
Sample 12-9-2020 B – The sample is expunged from the Data Bank.
Sample 12-9-2020 C – The sample will remain in the Data Bank.