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New York City’s DNA Gun Crimes Unit Reduces Turnaround Times for Gun Crimes by Half

by Jordan Arizmendi

On June 30, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham announced the creation of the specialized Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s (“OCME”) DNA Gun Crimes Unit. One year later, it became the fastest big city lab for testing and analyzing gun crime evidence.

With an investment of $2.5 million, the OCME DNA Gun Crimes Unit will hire and train 24 forensic scientists dedicated to testing and analyzing gun crime evidence throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

OCME handles the largest public DNA crime laboratory in the country. The lab tests about 50,000 pieces of evidence every year. A year ago, the lab’s turnaround testing time for gun crimes was 60 days or less, which is faster than almost any other jurisdiction in the country. On June 27, 2023, the city announced that, thanks to the new city lab, that time has dropped to an unprecedented 30 days or less.   

Sources: NYC.gov; forensicmag.com

 

 

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