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

Loaded on Sept. 1, 2023 by Jordan Arizmendi published in Criminal Legal News September, 2023, page 26
Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Gun Laws/Crimes. Location: New York.

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

More from this issue:

  1. Geofence Warrants: Little-Known Search Makes Innocent People Suspects Simply for Having a Phone Near a Crime Scene, by Douglas Ankney
  2. What’s ‘Sufficient’ Rehabilitation for Compassionate Release?, by Luke Sommer, James Lockhart
  3. Interrogating a Suspect With an Intellectual Disability Using the Reid Technique: Recipe for a False Confession, by Jo Ellen Nott
  4. Forensic Benefits of a Body Farm Facility, by Jordan Arizmendi
  5. Police Can Get More From Your Phone Than You May Believe, by Michael Thompson
  6. Surveilling AI’s Big Moment, by Michael Thompson
  7. Wyoming Supreme Court Reverses ‘Contempt of Cop’ Conviction Because Police Were Not Lawfully Performing Their Official Duties, by Richard Resch
  8. Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Obtained as a Result of Warrant That Lacked Probable Cause of Criminal Activity in Arson Investigation, by Anthony Accurso
  9. Arizona Blowfly Database Develops Empirical Support for Time of Death Estimation, by Anthony Accurso
  10. California Court of Appeal Reverses Felony Murder Conviction Because Evidence Insufficient to Support Underlying Predicate Felony of Attempted Robbery, by Douglas Ankney
  11. Biased Algorithms Are Still a Problem, by Michael Thompson
  12. Probation Sentences Capped in Minnesota, by Jordan Arizmendi
  13. The Two Faces of the FBI and DOD Facial Recognition Program, by Carlo Difundo
  14. New York Court of Appeals: Constitutional Prohibition Against Restraining Defendant Without Explanation Remains in Force During Announcement of Verdict and Polling of Jurors, by Douglas Ankney
  15. No Discipline for NYPD Officers Who Deface License Plates in Apparent Attempt to Evade Tickets, by Douglas Ankney
  16. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Casts Nearly 30,000 DUI Convictions in Doubt Due to ‘Egregious Government Misconduct’, by Jordan Arizmendi
  17. New York City’s DNA Gun Crimes Unit Reduces Turnaround Times for Gun Crimes by Half, by Jordan Arizmendi
  18. The Serious Threat of Cell-Site Simulators, by Michael Thompson
  19. Second Circuit Vacates § 924 Convictions Predicated on Attempted Hobbs Act Robbery, by Douglas Ankney
  20. New Study Proposes Biological Reasons May Cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, by Jordan Arizmendi
  21. Law Enforcement Using Technology That Accesses Live Video From Any Camera Connected to the Internet, by Jordan Arizmendi
  22. New Service Highlights Cellphone Privacy Issues, by Michael Thompson
  23. Mississippi Ends ‘Dead Zone’, by Jordan Arizmendi
  24. ‘Lab in a Box’ Provides DNA Results in Minutes, by Jordan Arizmendi
  25. Report Finds Older Prisoners in Maryland Are Less Likely to Be Paroled, by Jordan Arizmendi
  26. New Robotic Cops Patrolling in NYC, by Jordan Arizmendi
  27. Supreme Court of California: After Amendments to Three Strikes Law, Courts Retain Concurrent Sentencing Discretion for Qualifying Offenses Committed on Same Occasion or Arising From Same Operative Facts, by Douglas Ankney
  28. New York Court of Appeals: Call Intercepted on Wiretap Not Exempt From Statutory Notice Requirements Simply Because Same Call Captured on Separate, Consensual Recording by Jail, by Anthony Accurso
  29. Fourth Circuit Denies Defendant Faced ‘Classic Penalty Situation’ During Polygraph Questioning While on Supervised Release, by Anthony Accurso
  30. Seventh Circuit: Whether Right to Counsel ‘Attaches’ Is Not Dependent on Defendant’s Appearance at Probable Cause Hearing, by Anthony Accurso
  31. Sixth Circuit Holds Bump Stocks Not Regulated Under Machinegun Statute, by Anthony Accurso
  32. New Jersey Supreme Court: Third-Party’s Apparent Authority to Consent to Search Premises Does Not Extend to Defendant’s Personal Property Located on Premises, by Anthony Accurso
  33. Travis County, Texas, Efforts to Keep Mentally Ill Individuals Out of Jail Face Funding, Infrastructure, and Information Management Challenges, by Jo Ellen Nott
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