New state law requires police to store DNA evidence

Ken Betz, director of the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory, holds an envelope with DNA evidence. The crime lab has 20,000 to 30,000 DNA samples. A new state law will require DNA evidence to be held for up to 30 years. Staff photo by Lisa Powell

Lisa Powell/Staff photographer Ken Betz, director of the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory, holds an envelope with DNA evidence. The crime lab has 20,000 to 30,000 DNA samples. A new state law will require DNA evidence to be held for up to 30 years. Staff photo by Lisa Powell

ENLARGE PHOTO

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Doug Page, Staff Writer 10:40 PM Sunday, July 4, 2010

DAYTON — Police departments, sheriff’s offices and crime labs throughout the state will be required to retain all biological evidence collected from crime scenes of specified crimes for up to 30 years — in some cases longer — beginning Tuesday, July 6.

Proponents of the new law maintain it will guard against a wrongly convicted person remaining in prison when new evidence is uncovered.

Opponents claim the new law appears unwieldy and is another unfunded state mandate on already stressed city and county budgets.

Sometime later this month or next, a task force will work out the details.

“It’s the positions of the crime labs that law enforcement will be responsible to secure and maintain the material that may contain biological evidence,” said Ken Betz, director of the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. “One of the deficiencies (of the law) is that it does not provide the resources.”

Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project, which pushed for the new law, said it will save law enforcement money by giving them the state’s first guidelines on evidence retention.

“A lot agencies save everything until their property room is full. Then they throw out the oldest. Now they have specific guidelines for a limited number of crimes,” he said.

Those crimes are aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, first- or second-degree involuntary manslaughter or vehicular manslaughter, rape, attempted rape, sexual battery or underage gross sexual imposition.

Betz countered without specific details agencies “won’t get rid of anything because you don’t know what you might need. ... We’re reaching out into the wind.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Share this article