The NYS DNA Databank and CODIS
CODIS: Combined DNA Index System
The NYS DNA Databank became operational in August 1999, with the first “hit” linking an offender with DNA evidence from a crime scene in February 2000. The Databank is part of a national system called CODIS, a searchable software program with three hierarchical tiers of the DNA Index System: local (LDIS); state (SDIS); and national (NDIS). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) serves as the NDIS connection and links New York State with other participating states. This tiered approach allows individual state and local agencies to operate their respective DNA databases according to applicable state law and local policy.
In New York State there are eight LDIS DNA laboratories. The State Police Forensic Investigation Center (FIC) in Albany serves as a LDIS site for forensic casework performed at the FIC and as the SDIS laboratory for New York State. All LDIS laboratories maintain a Forensic Index which is comprised of DNA profiles from crime scene evidence submitted by the agencies they serve. These profiles are routinely compared in order to identify and link criminal incidents that may involve the same perpetrator. The SDIS database at the State Police FIC contains forensic DNA profiles uploaded by each of the LDIS laboratories and enables inter-comparisons of crime scene evidence DNA profiles among the participating LDIS laboratories in New York State and across the country.
Public Forensic DNA Laboratories in New York State (LDIS Sites)
- Erie County Department of Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory
- Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory
- Nassau County Department of Forensic Genetics DNA Laboratory
- New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Department of Forensic Biology
- New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center
- Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences
- Suffolk County Crime Laboratory
- Westchester County Department of Laboratories & Research Division of Forensic Sciences
The State Police FIC (SDIS) also maintains the Convicted Offender Index (DNA profiles from designated offenders) and the Subject Index (DNA profiles from offenders convicted of crimes whose DNA was collected pursuant to 9 NYCRR section 6192.1(x) and (aa). The individual DNA profiles in these indices are periodically compared with the DNA profiles from crime scene evidence contained in the Forensic Index to determine whether an individual can be identified with crime scene evidence from one or more criminal incidents. Comparisons occur within the State, as well as among states, through the national CODIS system.
The New York State DNA Databank Law and Qualifying Offenses:
New York State DNA Databank was authorized by legislation enacted in 1994. The statutory provisions establishing the Databank are found in section 995-c of the Executive Law. Offenders convicted of certain qualifying offenses (listed in section 995(7) of the Executive Law) must, after sentencing, provide a DNA sample for inclusion in the Databank. The list of designated offenses was expanded in 1999, 2004, 2006 and 2010. The list of designated offenses currently includes all Penal Law felonies and 36 specified Penal Law misdemeanors.
DNA Databank Statistics
(last updated 1/9/2012)
| Designated Offender Profiles | 386,234 |
| Subject Index Offender Profiles | 25,091 |
| Offender Duplicate Profiles | 38,746 |
| Total Number of DNA Profiles | 450,071 |
| Forensic Samples (crime scene) in State DNA Index System (SDIS) | 37,760 |
| CODIS Hits – All | 12,818 |
| State DNA Index System - Offender Hits | 10,253 |
| State DNA Index System - Forensic Case to Case Hits | 252 |
| National DNA Index System - Offender Hits | 2,033 |
| National DNA Index System - Forensic Case to Case Hits | 250 |
| Local DNA Index System – Forensic Case to Case Hits | 30 |
| Investigations Aided* | 13,241 |
*CODIS generates investigative leads in cases where biological evidence is recovered from the crime scene. Matches made among profiles in the Forensic Index can link crime scenes together; possibly identifying serial offenders. Based upon a match, police from multiple jurisdictions can coordinate their respective investigations and share the leads they developed independently. Matches made between the Forensic and Offender Indexes provide investigators with the identity of a suspected perpetrator(s). Since names and other personally identifiable information are not stored at NDIS, qualified DNA analysts in the laboratories sharing matching profiles contact each other to confirm the candidate match. The term “Investigations Aided” includes case to case matches as well as forensic to offender matches.
