Washington State Lawfully Owed DNA Project.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is requesting an additional $983,641 in U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance funding through the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. This request is to:  (1) continue the collection of lawfully owed DNA samples from convicted offenders, (2) allow for the testing and uploading of the samples into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and (3) aid in the investigations and prosecutions that result from the upload of these offender samples.

The AGO team currently consists of Assistant Attorney General Kate Hemann who is the AGO SAKI Site Coordinator and DNA Collection Coordinator, two Senior Investigator Analysts, IT App Developer Entry position and Violent Crime Analyst.

As the lead agency, AGO will continue working with our key partners:   (1) The Washington State Department of Corrections, (2) the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab, (3) the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, (4) the United States Marshal Service, and (5) the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

The project goal is to continue to advance our six objectives stated in our timeline.  This project will continue its progress with the goal of completion in October 2024. Grant funding will advance the AGO Lawfully Owed DNA Project by accomplishing the following:

Continue funding existing personnel plus add an additional necessary Senior Investigator Analyst to verify our census and assist in collecting DNA samples from offenders currently residing in the community.

Provide funding for the SAKI team to provide necessary trainings on the collection of DNA samples and the importance of collecting samples from all qualifying convicted offenders.

In this 2021 SAKI application, the Washington State AGO respectfully requests funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance to continue to support our efforts on this initiative. We propose to continue work in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Corrections and the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab on the SAKI Lawfully Owed DNA project.  This project will assist Washington State in implementing the national response model to enable the appropriate authorities to plan and coordinate DNA collections of lawfully owed DNA samples, testing of these samples and CODIS uploads of DNA profiles for the purpose of resolving criminal cases including cold sexual assault cases associated with previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits.