Audit of the Forensic DNA
Backlog Reduction
Grant Program Awards

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Audit Division has completed an audit of the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Grant Program Awards managed by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD or Department). The primary objectives of the audit were to:

Background

The City was awarded $3,945,820 in grant awards from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) from Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 through FY 2007 relating to the Forensic DNA Capacity Enhancement Award, for improving the infrastructure and analysis capacity of the crime laboratory by providing training and purchase of equipment, and the Forensic Casework DNA Backlog Reduction Award, for reducing the DNA backlog through staff overtime and hiring outside consultants. Concerns were raised about the timely use of the grants, in particular, how timely the grants have been used, how much has been applied to reduce the rape kit backlog, and the reasons for DOJ reducing
LAPD’s FY 2008 grant amount.

Scope

We reviewed the eight grant awards from the DOJ since FY 2004. We performed the audit in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), and the audit covered the period of July 2004 through September 2008. Fieldwork was conducted between August and October 2008.

Summary of Audit Results

In general, the Department has adequate internal controls to ensure that grant funds are spent on eligible expenditures related to the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Grant Program Awards. However, we found that due to poor planning and oversight, the LAPD had its FY 2008 grant reduced by $498,570 which represented over 50% of the amount it was entitled to receive. The DOJ reduced the FY 2008 grant amount because it noted that the LAPD had not been spending monies. As of February 2008, the LAPD had not reported any expenditures on the FY 2006 grants and still had not closed out the FY 2004 and FY 2005 grants. Since the first grant was awarded in 2004, the Department has not spent grant funds in a timely manner.

In addition, there is a large backlog of DNA sexual assault cases that has continued to increase. As of September 4, 2008, the backlog was 7,038 kits. Since the LAPD lost nearly $500,000 in funding, less monies were available to reduce the backlog of rape kits.

With respect to the grant reduction of $498,570, the LAPD reports that it has increased its oversight over the DNA grants, developed a comprehensive grant tracking system to allow staff in various Divisions/Units to easily identify spending and administrative problems early on, and provided training to staff involved with the grants to help prevent any future grant reductions in Federal funding.

With respect to the backlog of DNA sexual assault cases, the Department has received donation commitments of $1.2 million and it is seeking authorization to have an additional $1 million transferred to the LAPD’s general fund accounts. Although this funding is not sufficient to eliminate the backlog, it should help ensure that the backlog does not increase.

Key Findings

  Despite being awarded nearly $4 million in grant funds over the last few years, the backlog of rape kits continues to increase. The backlog is currently 7,038 cases (6,862 related to unrequested cases and 176 related to detective requested cases.) Until about a year ago, the Department did not have a detailed and comprehensive plan to eliminate the backlog.

The LAPD currently has a backlog of over 7,000 rape kits, and the backlog has increased by 700 to 900 cases each year over the last several years. The Department noted a backlog problem with unrequested rape kits as far back as 2002, and budgeted funds were requested to help reduce or eliminate the backlog, but no timeframe was given to eliminate the backlog which ranged from 1,800 to 2,500 cases.

According to the Department, in approximately mid-2006, LAPD made a policy decision to work all rape kits, not just those related to requests made by detectives. As a result of the policy decision, the CAO reported to the Mayor in July 2007 the
resources that would be required to eliminate the backlog in five to six years. However, the CAO did not recommend that additional funds be allocated to reducing the backlog due to limited funds available. This was the first plan that we noted that had a timeframe for eliminating the backlog.

Subsequent to the July 2007 plan, the LAPD prepared at least three additional plans, one in May 2008, one in September 2008, and one in October 2008. Each plan had a different approach and the resources required to eliminate the backlog. Under the May 2008 plan, the backlog would be eliminated in 30 months. The September 2008 and October 2008 plans indicate that the backlog could be eliminated by the end of June 30, 2013.

The backlog cannot be eliminated with current funding. The Department may receive new sources of funds. Through the Police Foundation, the Department has received donation commitments from two individuals totaling $1.2 million. In addition, the Department is seeking authorization to have an additional $1 million transferred to its general fund accounts.

It is important for the City to commit resources to working the rape kits. Penal Code Section 803 states that there is no statute of limitations on the prosecution of the case, if a sexual assault evidence kit is processed within two years of a crime committed after 2000 and a DNA profile has been obtained. However, if the evidence kit is not processed within two years from the date of the offense, there is a ten-year statute of limitations. Currently, the 6,862 backlog includes 5,694 rape kits older than two years. Of these, 217 have exceeded the ten-year statute of limitations. The LAPD agrees that the statute for these rape kits has expired, but it stated that it is possible that these cases may have proceeded based on other evidence for the case.

Until June 2008, the LAPD had only one contractor to perform DNA testing. However, now, with a large increase in the number of DNA tests performed, the Department has three additional contractors.

  LAPD had its FY 2008 grant reduced by $498,570 due to poor planning and a lack of oversight.

LAPD should have been awarded $934,430 for the FY 2008 grant. However, in April 2008, DOJ reduced this amount by $498,570 to $435,860 because LAPD had not reported any expenditures on either of its two FY 2006 grants, even though LAPD could have begun spending monies in April 2007.

Spending the grant funds in a timely manner has always been a problem for LAPD due to a lack of proper planning and a lack of oversight. For example, on average, it has taken seven months after the grant award to obtain City Council approval to accept the award. LAPD has never formally consulted with the CAO, City Attorney, or Council to determine what could be done to expedite this process. Council may have been willing to grant a waiver to the normal process because these are recurring grants, the amount of the grant is known at the time of application, and there are no matching City funds required.

Monies had also not been spent on the FY 2006 grant due to a lack of oversight. For example, Grant staff had mistakenly thought that all the FY 2004 and FY 2005 monies had to be spent before they could begin to spend the FY 2006 funds. LAPD management did not contact NIJ to discuss possible solutions to its problem of not spending the FY 2006 monies.

Sometime around February 2008, NIJ expressed concerns that no monies had been spent on the FY 2006 grants. Based on discussions between NIJ and LAPD, NIJ informed LAPD on April 10, 2008, that it could begin spending monies on the FY 2006 Forensic Casework DNA Backlog Reduction Grant, provided that at least 90% of the FY 2004 and FY 2005 funds had been expended. By the end of September 2007, LAPD had met the 90% requirement for the FY 2004 and 2005 DNA Backlog Reduction Grants. However, for the Capacity Enhancement Grant, NIJ indicated that there is no such restriction on simultaneous expenditures, and we did not note such a restriction in the grant agreement. LAPD could have started using the FY 2006 Capacity Enhancement Grant when the Council approved it in April 2007. However, no expenditures were charged to the grant until April 2008.

As a result of NIJ’s approval to begin spending FY 2006 monies and attention from the media, LAPD has accelerated its efforts to utilize the grant funding. Between April 2008 and August 14, 2008, LAPD spent $447,392 on the FY 2006 grants. In addition, the Department reports that between August 15, 2008 and October 15, 2008, it spent an additional $602,824 and $56,822 on the FY 2006 and FY 2007 grants, respectively.

  LAPD may not be providing required notifications to victims.

The California Penal Code may require that victims be notified if their rape kits will not be tested within two years. The LAPD does not have procedures in place to notify the required victims, and no notifications have occurred. LAPD management stated that notifications have not been made due to a lack of resources.

Review of Report

We met with LAPD management on October 14, 2008 to discuss the contents of the audit report. Department management generally agreed with the findings and recommendations. We would like to thank the Department management and staff for their cooperation and assistance during the audit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RECOMMENDATIONS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LAPD management should:

1. Request that the City Administrative Office (CAO) review its most recent plan to ensure the plan is reasonable, achievable, and has an appropriate timeline for eliminating the current backlog and ensuring that a new backlog does not accumulate.

2. Closely monitor cases approaching the two-year and ten-year statute of limitations so these cases can be given a high priority for DNA testing.

3. Ensure that all eligible contractor costs are first charged to the DNA grant funds.

4. Work with the CAO and Council to ensure that the City accepts grant awards in a timely manner.

5. Provide closer oversight over the DNA grant funds to minimize the risk of future reductions in Federal funding.

6. Consult with the City Attorney’s Office and/or other California law enforcement agencies to determine the circumstances under which victims must be notified when LAPD does not intend to analyze DNA evidence from sexual assault victims.

7. If necessary, seek additional resources to comply with the Penal Code requirements related to victim notifications.

8. Monitor to ensure that transfers from the Police Department Grant Special Revenue Fund to the Reserve/General Fund are made within one month after the end of each quarter and that all monies owed to the Reserve/General Fund are repaid.