Combined DNA Index System Operational and Laboratory Vulnerabilities

Audit Report 06-32
May 2006
Office of the Inspector General


Statement on Compliance with
Laws and Regulations


As required by the Government Auditing Standards, we tested FBI records pertaining to the administration of CODIS to obtain reasonable assurance about the FBI’s compliance with laws and regulations that, if not complied with, could have a material effect on the administration of CODIS. Compliance with laws and regulations applicable to CODIS records at the national index level is the responsibility of FBI management. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence about compliance with laws and regulations. The pertinent legislation and the applicable regulations it contains are as follows:

DNA Identification Act of 199448

The DNA Identification Act of 1994 authorized the establishment of a national index of: (1) DNA identification records of persons convicted of crimes, (2) analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes, and (3) analyses of DNA samples recovered from unidentified human remains.

In addition, it specified several standards for those laboratories that contribute profiles to the national index system, including proficiency testing requirements for DNA analysts and privacy protection standards related to the information in the national index system.

Finally, it established criminal penalties for individuals who knowingly violate the privacy protection standards, and provided that access to the national index system was subject to cancellation if the quality control and privacy requirements were not met.

Justice for All Act of 200449

This Act instituted material changes to the DNA Identification Act of 1994, including the:

  • creation of a new indicted persons index;

  • expansion of the offenses for which federal and military offender samples are collected;

  • enhancement of the criminal penalties for unauthorized use of NDIS;

  • authorization of one-time keyboard searches by all NDIS participants of samples not normally included in NDIS (except for voluntarily submitted elimination samples);

  • deletion of the separate requirement for semiannual external proficiency tests (although it retained the separate requirement for biannual external audits);

  • requirement for state and local forensic laboratories to be accredited by a nationally recognized program within 2 years of enactment (October 30, 2006); and

  • requirement for the FBI to report to Congress any plans to change the "core genetic markers" 180 days prior to that change taking effect.

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Our tests revealed that the FBI was compliant with the above legislation, as applicable to the activities during our audit period.



Footnotes
  1. Pub. L. No. 103-322 (1994).

  2. Pub. L. No. 108-405 (2004).



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