Crime Laboratory CODIS Administrator Suspended Pending Investigation
Crime Laboratory CODIS Administrator Suspended Pending Investigation
Specifically, a CODIS administrator failed to make timely and/or accurate notifications of DNA "hits" or matches in several old but still open criminal cases. As a result, in many of the cases, a suspect was identified prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, but neither the police investigators nor the District Attorney's Office of jurisdiction were notified in a timely manner. In some cases, a lack of prioritization by the CODIS administrator resulted in the statute of limitations expiring before final verification of the DNA match was made. Lastly, in a few cases, the CODIS administrator made notification to law enforcement officials of DNA "hits" on old cases when in fact, no match had been made.
Colonel Delaney assigned a member of his senior command staff in the Division of Investigative Services to lead the internal investigation as well as a comprehensive review of administrative practices. In addition to, and in furtherance of the investigation, Colonel Delaney made a formal request to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico Virginia for an independent, external audit of the administrative practices at the Massachusetts State Police CODIS DNA Unit. The FBI Laboratory, who has agreed to conduct the audit, has management and administrative control of the National DNA Indexing System (NDIS). This independent review will provide a more detailed and thorough analysis to the investigation and assist the investigators in making final conclusions and recommendations.
Affected District Attorney's Offices were notified of the DNA discrepancies, expiration of the statute of limitations, and the pending internal investigation. In those cases involving reported "hits" that in fact were not "hits", notifications were made to the appropriate District Attorney's Offices as well as the police investigators assigned to those cases.
Following the discovery of the DNA discrepancies, Colonel Delaney ordered that an FBI qualified DNA Unit Supervisor be assigned to conduct a full, formal review of all CODIS DNA "hits" made to date and provide oversight of the entire CODIS process at the State Police Crime Lab. This supervisor will continue providing oversight until the matter is fully resolved.
The investigation remains open and ongoing. The CODIS administrator has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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