Provide needed staff, supplies, and equipment to build and maintain increased capacity and output in our State DNA Laboratory.

The Montana Department of Justice Forensic Science Division (MT DOJ FSD) is the agency responsible for analyzing evidence associated with criminal investigations for all state and local law enforcement agencies and medical examiners within the state of Montana. Montana Code Annotated 44-6-102 designates the MT DOJ FSD Laboratory to conduct analysis of DNA database samples collected from all convicted felons.

The biology section at the MT DOJ FSD, is working to manage increases in casework, turnover in staffing, and the additions of new processes and technologies with its limited staffing. The Montana State legislature passed legislation in 2019 to make Montana an “All Kit State” for sex assaults. All approved sexual assault evidence kits are being submitted for analysis.  The goals are to reduce turn-around times, backlog, and ratio of backlog to cases completed by 10 percent by the end of the award period and to maintain a 90-day turnaround time for 85 percent of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) samples.

The objectives for this grant proposal to achieve these goals are to improve the efficiency of processing casework and add resilience to our small laboratory by continuing to fund two forensic analysts able to perform serology and DNA analysis functions; to improve backlog and analysis turn-around times by continuing to fund a part-time DNA analyst; provide reagents and consumables to accommodate increases in DNA casework; outsource cold case requests; provide continued education training for our analysts; fund preventative maintenance for our most recently purchased Hamilton robot and our second QIAcube instrument; purchase an additional Maxwell RSC 48 robot for the extraction process and replace an aging QIAcube instrument; acquire additional Genemapper licenses to improve workflows; and purchase CODIS convicted offender collection kits.