DNA Backlog Hurts Kansas Crime Efforts

Topeka, KS – Kansas Attorney General Steve Six worries that some crimes in the state may stay unsolved longer because of budget problems facing the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Six's office said Tuesday that the KBI lab that processes DNA samples is understaffed, leading to a backlog in testing and including test results in the state's database.

Spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said the backlog affects samples collected from people who are arrested for felonies, not from current investigations.

The KBI has processed about 9,400 samples this year but still had more than 38,000 to process as of mid-September.

Having results in the database allows law enforcement officers with DNA samples from the scene of an unsolved crime to test whether the sample matches any person's DNA.