State Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Republican lawmakers announced their plan to hire 31 new positions to eliminate the backlog at the State Crime Lab Tuesday.
Currently, about 2,000 cases are waiting to be analyzed in labs. Under the new plan, the DNA backlog should be eradicated by 2010.
""Crime victims shouldn't have to wait for justice,"" Huebsch said in a statement. ""I am confident that these positions will not only end the backlog, but the growth will be halted and reduced as soon as these analysts are working on cases.""
The Joint Legislative Committee on Finance unanimously passed a bill March 1 endorsing the new plan. Huebsch said the Assembly will move quickly to allow the plan to move forward.
""The timely processing of DNA evidence is a fundamental public safety issue,"" Van Hollen said in a statement. ""This legislation is not simply about the number of analysts or the number of cases in the backlog; it is about solving real crimes and providing justice to real victims.""
