Dunn County CJCC schedules July mapping exercise to close gaps in court-ordered DNA collection

The Dunn County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) told the Judicial and Law Committee that it scheduled a July meeting of leaders from agencies involved in court-ordered DNA collection to map who must collect samples and where, with the goal of closing gaps and improving compliance with state law.

A CJCC representative said the mapping will document which defendants must provide a DNA sample when convicted and will lay out who asks for samples and where those samples should be taken. “We’re really gonna kind of map it out…who needs to have a DNA sample, how that process should go, who should ask them, where should they go,” the CJCC staff member said, adding that the exercise should reveal gaps that can be fixed, such as judges directing defendants immediately to a sample site.

CJCC staff reported that they reviewed 2024 collective data, changed some membership bylaws and removed at least one member (the city attorney) for nonattendance. The CJCC representative said the judiciary-and-law chair’s place on the CJCC had been under review and offered to discuss retention of that seat privately with the committee’s supervisor.

Staff said state law requires DNA collection on convictions at the misdemeanor or felony level (as described in the meeting). The July mapping session is intended to identify practical steps to increase collection rates and compliance.

The Judicial and Law Committee took no formal vote on the CJCC report; the CJCC representative said the county board will receive the CJCC county-board report this week.