FY 2013 SJS Project: Linking CHR and DNA data

The State Justice Statistics (SJS) Program is designed to maintain and enhance each state's capacity to address criminal justice issues through collection and analysis of data. The SJS Program provides support to each state to coordinate and conduct statistical activities within the state, conduct research to estimate impacts of legislative and policy changes, and serve as a liaison in assisting BJS to gather data from respondent agencies within their states.

Under this award, the Florida Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) will utilize SJS funds to link data from the state's Computerized Criminal History (CCH) files to the state's DNA Database to create a new source of information that matches the offender information contained in the DNA Database to the subjects found in the CCH files. The new dataset will enable the SAC to identify gaps in information and DNA collection, ensure that criminal history record (CHR) data is available for each offender in the DNA database, and assess the completeness of data collection to aid in increasing the DNA collection rate. The SAC will also complete several analyses during the project period to inform policymakers about the effects of DNA collection at the time of arrest compared to collection at the time of conviction, including 1) analysis of offenders' criminal history five years before and after DNA collection to document any changes in criminal behavior after the collection of their DNA; 2) analysis of the offenders whose DNA was collected at arrest to examine the prevalence of data that would have been collected based on later conviction; and 3) examination of those offenders with a hit in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to determine any changes in the pattern or frequency of offending from the point of a DNA hit.
CA/NCF