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State police work to improve evidence collection processing

Illinois State Police Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly says evidence collection and tracking is being improved.

kelly brendanIn December 2018, the ISP implemented the Laboratory Information Management System, a way to more effectively tracking DNA and other evidence and analysis.

In conjunction with the Porter Lee Corp., the LIMS was developed over a two-year period of design, development and testing.

Several associated initiatives and pilot programs completed during this period proved successful and have been incorporated into the new system.

“It is the mission of the ISP Division of Forensic Services to deliver complete, accurate, and timely crime scene evidence collection and forensic laboratory analysis. The LIMS allows us this opportunity,” Kelly said.

On April 24, 2019, the ISP showcased this process during a demonstration at the Forensic Science Center at Chicago. Media outlets were able to view evidence collection at a mock crime scene and see it delivered for analysis to the laboratory in a real-time manner through the LIMS.

Gov. JB Pritzker, who participated in the news conference, called the state’s DNA backlog unacceptable.
“We know that unacceptable backlogs and issues with transparency have plagued this process for far too long,” he said.

The state police are responsible for handling forensic work for the state’s more than 1,200 law enforcement agencies. According to a report, the ISP laboratory system received more than 68,000 cases and completed 66,000 in 2018.

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