Rep. Buchanan: FBI must prioritize DNA database

Kobilinsky, however, cautioned that a priority system might actually slow the database process because, for example, of the time it would take to determine whether a particular criminal’s DNA should be entered before someone else’s.

Buchanan said he thinks the FBI is receiving sufficient funding for its database, some $156 million this year, and he said he was told that new employees are currently receiving training that should help the bureau reduce the backlog within six to nine months.

Todd said the FBI lab’s Federal DNA Database Unit has a staffing level of 37 positions, with 23 presently on board, 13 receiving training and one vacancy.

The additional staffing and advancements in robotic technology mean the FBI eventually will be able to process and enter into the database 120,000 DNA samples a month, said Todd, but she said the FBI could not provide an estimate of when the backlog might be eliminated.

“The proactive measures implemented by the FBI Laboratory clearly demonstrate our commitment to entering the profiles of federal offenders in a timely manner,” she said.

Buchanan stressed that information about the most violent criminals be available on the DNA database as soon as possible in case law enforcement needs to compare it with evidence from a new crime scene.

“I’m arguing that if you can’t keep it current, I want to make sure the baddest of the bad end up there on Day 1,” Buchanan said.

Smith is considered the prime suspect in two home invasions being investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, on March 13 in northwest Bradenton and on March 31 in East Manatee. DNA was not recovered in either case, however.

But Steube said the FBI’s backlog leaves local enforcement hamstrung when DNA evidence might be pivotal in an investigation.

“I hate to criticize any other agency, but the bottom line for me is that we’d like everything to be available when we’re conducting an investigation,” Steube said. “Our primary function is to capture the bad guys, and if that is one of the things we need to use, we’d like that to happen as quickly as possible.”

Smith has been held in the Pinellas County jail since Sept. 11 after he was arrested for violating his federal probation. Smith originally had been arrested after a bar fight in Venice on Aug. 14, and during a search of his belongings, police found a handgun and items that had been stolen during some of the home invasions, according to reports.

A Sarasota sheriff’s spokeswoman said local officials were waiting for the state attorney’s office and the U.S. Marshals Service to arrange for his transfer to Sarasota.