State police crime lab faces backlog

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana State Police crime lab still faces several years of work to whittle away a burgeoning backlog of evidence, despite a last-minute maneuver by state lawmakers to earmark more money for the lab.\nThe additional funding -- about $12.23 million over four years -- is not expected to keep up with the number of cases referred to the lab, police say.\nThe number of backlogged cases at the state's four crime labs was 5,287 on Jan. 1. By March 1, it swelled to 5,649.\n"To get caught up within four years would be a desirable goal, but it also would be a tall order," state police Sgt. David Bursten said.\nThe four state police crime labs -- in Indianapolis, Lowell, Fort Wayne and Evansville -- analyze crime evidence for most of the state's police organizations.\nMoney for scientific testing of DNA samples, guns, drugs and other evidence appeared elusive during most of the legislative session as lawmakers struggled with an impending budget deficit. But on the session's last day, lawmakers tapped part of an existing fee collected by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the crime lab.\nIn the first year, the fee would net about $1 million for the lab. The money would increase each year, to $4.39 million in the third year.\nGov. Frank O'Bannon signed the measure last week.\nMaj. Robert Conley, commander of the state police laboratory division, said the agency continues to be swamped with requests for evidence examinations.\nDNA analysis of blood and other bodily substances accounted for 729 backlogged cases as of March 1.\nIt will take time to hire more scientists, train them for the crime lab and plug them into the existing system. addition, it may be difficult to find qualified scientists willing to work from 4 p.m. to midnight, Conley said.\nFor victims waiting for justice, there's little solace in knowing about the reasons for the backlog.\nLaura Koenig, a 23-year-old Vincennes woman who was raped in May 2001, is still waiting for an arrest in her case. She has identified a man as her attacker, and some DNA tests have been completed, but others are pending.\nKoenig, who agreed to tell her story to The Indianapolis Star last month, said the detective on the case has urged her to hang on.\n"I guess I'll hang on and see how long it takes," she said.