Wisconsin Public Radio: Dem Candidates for AG Discuss Crime Lab Backlog
8/2/2006
On Wisconsin Public Radio on Tuesday, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said she has taken steps to fix the DNA testing backlog in the state's crime lab.
"We're all concerned about the backlog in DNA testing ... we've become the victim of our successes," Lautenschlager said, pointing to an "explosion" in the number of submissions.
"DAs want to win cases and they know that DNA evidence is important," Lautenschlager said.
She said the number of cases submitted for DNA analysis had increased by 60 percent this year without a commensurate increase in staff, and said law enforcement training and four new analysts who will be finishing training this fall would help cut the backlog. She also said that backlogs in fingerprint identification and other areas had been addressed during her tenure.
Lautenschlager and Democratic primary challenger Kathleen Falk appeared separately on Wisconsin Public Radio with Joy Cardin this morning.
Falk said the backlog needed to be dealt with because it means that "victims suffer longer." She said it was a matter of reprioritizing resources, and said the management skills she uses to run Dane County government would help her to address the problem.
