Increasing CSPD Metro Crime Lab Capabilities for DNA Analysis

As the metropolitan area of Colorado Springs has grown 3.7 percent in the last 5 years, so has the workload of the Colorado Springs Police Department Metro Crime Laboratory (MCL). The MCL currently employs a total of six DNA analysts, which is a small workforce for a laboratory serving an area larger than the city and county of Denver and having a similar number in population. Three full-time analysts are paid through City of Colorado Springs general funds, and two full-time and one .75 full-time analysts are funded by Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) DNA Formula grants. The CEBR DNA Formula grants have been instrumental in maintaining these three DNA analyst positions that are critical for the MCL to increase processing capacity and decreasing turnaround times for the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) eligible samples. A new grant-funded analyst in 2022 and increasing a grant-funded part-time analyst to .75 full-time in 2023 has helped net 21 DNA cases that were in backlog and processed last year, a small improvement but important in creating momentum. With the City of Colorado Springs currently experiencing budget cuts to all departments, including the Police Department, the CEBR DNA Formula grant is very important to maintain the momentum of decreasing the backlog of DNA cases at the MCL.