Valasca
Death, horror, torture
When a burglar recently broke into a church, police officers used blood discovered at the scene to identify a suspect and make an arrest.
It's something television viewers see frequently on cop shows like "CSI: Miami." But in Fort Lauderdale, police seldom use DNA evidence to solve break-ins such as the one at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
That could soon change to help hundreds of residents whose homes and cars are broken into each month and whose jewelry, money and valuables are stolen.
Fort Lauderdale police commanders are convinced they can make a major dent in property crime by collecting and testing DNA evidence. But they say they've been stymied by lengthy delays at Broward Sheriff's Office crime lab. They want to farm out work to private companies instead.
"BSO just doesn't have the resources, and we want a much quicker response so we can make arrests and close cases," Police Chief Frank Adderley said. "We have a lab at BSO that has done a great job over the years, but it cannot support all the needs of all the municipalities in Broward County."
BSO's crime lab has been the subject of intense debate as part of county budget cuts over the past two years. Some county leaders have wanted to shift much of its cost to cities even though cities argue their residents already pay for the lab through their county taxes.
Fort Lauderdale police officials said their discussion of hiring private labs has nothing to do with that controversy. They said they are following a national trend in how to combat property crime and believe other cities may piggyback on their plans once under way.
Fort Lauderdale's Police Department now sends evidence in only a handful of nonviolent cases to the BSO crime lab for DNA testing because police officials say it often take nine months or longer to receive the results.
The private lab that analyzed the evidence in the church break-in had the work completed in a couple days. Based on those results, officers arrested George Albert Horn six days after the crime occurred.
The Sheriff's Office disputes the length of delays described by the Police Department, but acknowledges that it must prioritize murders and rapes over thefts. The crime lab handles about 700 DNA cases a year sent in by law enforcement agencies throughout the county, but is also responsible for other forensic testing including analysis of firearms, drugs and latent prints.
BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal said the agency is talking to Fort Lauderdale about its plans and whether there are other options.
"We are aware that Fort Lauderdale has been doing some work with a private lab," Leljedal said. "There are advantages and disadvantages to that. It may move faster, but we don't think anyone has a better lab than ours."
Fort Lauderdale wants to find a private company to handle up to 1,000 cases a year. The agency would send the lab DNA evidence for testing in property crimes and some other nonviolent cases while continuing to use BSO for major violent crimes.
The Police Department would also train street officers in how to identify and collect DNA evidence. They'd swab door handles and windows of cars and homes that are burglarized and look for blood and hair samples — even handprint smears — to analyze.
"This is solid, concrete evidence that can help the prosecution of cases," said Lt. Michael Dew of Fort Lauderdale's criminal investigations division. "We recognize the value of DNA testing on property crimes and all crime. It's a pretty well-known and proven fact that most crimes are committed by repeat offenders, and DNA can help solve those cases."
The ramifications could be significant for crime-fighting in Fort Lauderdale. There are more than 200 vehicle burglaries every month and almost the same number of home burglaries.
Police officials want to pay for the work out of federal grants or the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, which is financed through confiscated merchandise and forfeited money. Processing the blood evidence in the church case cost the city $2,000, but officials believe they can get the cost down if they promise to send a large number of cases to a private lab.
The Police Department pays nothing to use the BSO's crime lab because taxpayers across the county pay for the $5 million annual cost of its operations as part of their property tax bill.
Fort Lauderdale's idea stems from a groundbreaking study about property crime conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice. The study concluded that the collection of biological evidence can make a major difference in solving burglaries.
Only 12 percent of burglaries reported in the U.S. were solved in 2006. But the institute found more than twice as many suspects were identified and arrested when law enforcement agencies use DNA evidence.
"There is no doubt that many, many burglars who are not currently identified by traditional investigations could be identified using DNA," wrote the editor of the National Institute of Justice Journal in an article detailing the study.
Officials in other Broward cities were not aware of Fort Lauderdale's plans. Some were skeptical about paying extra for private lab work when BSO is free, but others said they were intrigued.
"My taxpayers are already paying the county to have testing done," Miramar Mayor Lori Moseley said. But Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook said, "I'm always open-minded to ideas, particularly when it involves helping protect the safety of our citizens."
The State Attorney's Office said it is interested in discussing the idea with Fort Lauderdale.
"DNA testing has proven to be a very valuable crime-fighting tool and should be used in the prosecution of property crimes as well as violent offenses," said Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for State Attorney Michael Satz.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/br...a-testing-lauderdale-20100731,0,7134065.story
Seems like a waste of funds to do DNA testing on property crime BUT it might create more jobs.
