MADISON – Attorney General Brad Schimel has hired a consultant to identify ways to speed up evidence testing at Wisconsin crime labs, as criticism mounts over delays, the Associated Press reported.
A DOJ report obtained by the AP through an open records request shows turnaround times for the testing of DNA, guns, tool marks and drug compositions have grown dramatically since Schimel took office in January 2015. During that time frame, DNA testing jumped from 43 to 76 days; gun testing increased from 113 to 171 days; tool mark analysis grew from 277 to 511 days; and drug testing turnaround time nearly doubled from 42 to 80 days, the AP’s Todd Richmond wrote.
Crime Lab Bureau Director Nicole Roehm told the AP that DNA analysis delays have increased because of a 45 percent jump in submissions of sexual assault cases between 2016 and 2017, noting police are submitting more sexual assault DNA evidence because they’re realizing the need to determine whether known offenders are linked to other assaults.
In 2015, a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin investigation found that at least 6,000 rape kits remained untested in Wisconsin — some of which have sat unexamined for years. Schimel has since fallen under scrutiny for delayed efforts to address thousands of untested rape kits.
