Governor Scott ‘Gets to Work’ as FDLE Crime Lab Analyst
Contact: Governor’s Press Office
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Governor Scott ‘Gets to Work’ as FDLE Crime Lab Analyst
Highlights 60 Percent Reduction of DNA Backlog
ORLANDO –Governor Rick Scott spent his 14th “Let’s Get to Work Day” working at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Orlando Regional Operations Center, where he processed evidence in the evidence intake center, worked as a crime analyst in the biology section, analyzed a gun at the firearms section, and participated in an exercise with the cybercrimes unit whose mission is to crack down on computer crimes including on-line sex predators.
Governor Scott said, “My goal is to create a Florida where every family feels safe in our communities. As a father of two and a grandfather, I know how important it is for our families to feel safe. Too often, we’ve seen evening news stories of families and forever changed by a senseless crime. That’s why I’m proud of our progress in knocking down the DNA case backlog by 60 percent, while also providing the funding necessary to expand an increase the number of DNA samples in the database.
“Thanks to the hard work of the men and women I met today, we’re making progress every day in bringing offenders to justice and making our streets safer. Today, we are at a 40-year low crime rate, which means we’re headed in the right direction.”
Governor Scott helped collect evidence submitted to FDLE from local agencies, process DNA, and observe how DNA samples are put into the national DNA database.
In the month of September 2012, FDLE provided 365 “hits” to local, state and national law enforcement agencies. A hit is when evidence associated with a crime is identified to an individual’s specific DNA. Currently, there are more than 862,000 offender DNA samples in FDLE’s database. It is the second-largest such database in the country. Samples are obtained from felony convictions and those arrested for homicide, assaults, sexual battery and lewd and indecent exposure. In January 2013, FDLE will begin adding burglary, robbery and theft arrests to the database thanks to funding provided under the Scott Administration.
The Florida DNA database began in 1990 and has grown to be one of the largest DNA databases in the country. Florida is part of the FBI’s national DNA identification index system known as CODIS. This system allows state and local law enforcement agencies’ crime laboratories to store and compare DNA records from convicted offenders and crime scene evidence with that of other state DNA databases.
About Governor Scott’s “Let’s Get to Work Days”
Last year, Governor Scott started working at jobs throughout the state to help promote key industries while gaining a better perspective on the lives of everyday Floridians. Floridians can suggest jobs for the Governor’s workdays by visiting www.FLGov.com and clicking on “’Let’s Get to Work Days’ or e-mailing Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com. Stay updated on the Governor’s ‘Let’s Get to Work’ Days by following him on Twitter and Facebook. Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/flgovscott/ for photos for Governor Scott’s Work Day.
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