❓ Mrs Edwardes questions the Minister about potential waste of police resources due to DNA backlog at PathCentre. The Minister assures that efforts are being made to minimize analysis time and that investigations should continue to gather all evidence.
AnsweredQoN 2720Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the Minister to the answer to question on notice No. 2343, and ask is the Minister satisfied that valuable Police time and resources are not being wasted in continuing to investigate a crime when DNA evidence of the suspect is tied up in a backlog at the PathCentre?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
1 July 2004
Responded by
Minister for Police and Emergency Services
Response time
99 days
Both the State Government and the Western Australia Police Service are committed to minimising the time taken by the PathCentre to analyse samples without effecting the efficacy of the analysis. While the collection and analysis of DNA evidence forms an important part of an investigation, it is essential that investigations continue so as to maximise the collection of all available evidence. The Police Service further advise it would be inadvisable to suspend their investigation into a particular crime whilst awaiting DNA results. Since February 2001, the PathCentre has been significantly expanded both to accommodate the increased volume of samples requiring analysis and to improve the timeliness of that analysis. Staff numbers have increased from 11 in February 2001 to 40 in June 2004 and $500 000 of equipment has been acquired to enable the laboratory to meet the demands of additional DNA assessments.
While the collection and analysis of DNA evidence forms an important part of an investigation, it is essential that investigations continue so as to maximise the collection of all available evidence. The Police Service further advise it would be inadvisable to suspend their investigation into a particular crime whilst awaiting DNA results. Since February 2001, the PathCentre has been significantly expanded both to accommodate the increased volume of samples requiring analysis and to improve the timeliness of that analysis. Staff numbers have increased from 11 in February 2001 to 40 in June 2004 and $500 000 of equipment has been acquired to enable the laboratory to meet the demands of additional DNA assessments.
Since February 2001, the PathCentre has been significantly expanded both to accommodate the increased volume of samples requiring analysis and to improve the timeliness of that analysis. Staff numbers have increased from 11 in February 2001 to 40 in June 2004 and $500 000 of equipment has been acquired to enable the laboratory to meet the demands of additional DNA assessments.
While the collection and analysis of DNA evidence forms an important part of an investigation, it is essential that investigations continue so as to maximise the collection of all available evidence. The Police Service further advise it would be inadvisable to suspend their investigation into a particular crime whilst awaiting DNA results. Since February 2001, the PathCentre has been significantly expanded both to accommodate the increased volume of samples requiring analysis and to improve the timeliness of that analysis. Staff numbers have increased from 11 in February 2001 to 40 in June 2004 and $500 000 of equipment has been acquired to enable the laboratory to meet the demands of additional DNA assessments.
Since February 2001, the PathCentre has been significantly expanded both to accommodate the increased volume of samples requiring analysis and to improve the timeliness of that analysis. Staff numbers have increased from 11 in February 2001 to 40 in June 2004 and $500 000 of equipment has been acquired to enable the laboratory to meet the demands of additional DNA assessments.
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