OSBI asks for $2.5M to roll out rapid DNA statewide and $1M for forensic instrument replacement

Acting Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Director Stephen Carter and criminalistics division director Janice Jocelyn presented the agency’s proposal to deploy a statewide rapid DNA network and to fund a multi‑year instrument replacement plan for forensic laboratories.

Jocelyn said OSBI began a rapid DNA pilot in January 2024 and opened an instrument for limited processing in Edmond. The agency hosted a soft opening to invited partner agencies and planned a broader service launch. Rapid DNA instruments produce a searchable DNA profile within roughly 90 minutes, and OSBI described plans to position instruments near major regions so requesting agencies can get a match in a short timeframe rather than waiting days or weeks for central processing.

OSBI requested $2.5 million one‑time to populate statewide locations with rapid DNA instruments, associated IT infrastructure, consumables for initial years, and security/renovation costs at host sites. Director Carter said the purchase would include a mobile analysis unit and that the rapid DNA network would be modeled after programs in other states while being tailored to Oklahoma’s geography and incident volumes.

The criminalistics director also requested $1 million to implement a tiered instrument replacement plan. Jocelyn said many lab instruments were purchased in the early 2000s and are now aging together; incremental replacements would avoid a future cliff where many instruments require replacement simultaneously. She said modernizing instruments improves turnaround times and reduces backlog for evidence such as firearms, biology and toxicology work.

OSBI reported measurable improvements in turnaround times and backlog reduction since 2023: biological evidence pending cases fell from 611 to about 209 pending cases; firearms/tool‑mark backlogs dropped from 298 to about 40 pending cases, figures the agency said were the result of process and equipment gains. The agency also described the Alana Rothfeld training scholarship for small departments and said it expects to spend roughly $350,000 from that fund this year to expand training across regions.

Committee members asked about lifecycle costs, annual consumables for rapid DNA, and whether the instruments come with service contracts. OSBI answered that the instruments have an expected service life of roughly 8–10 years, that the FY26 request includes consumables to get startup through FY29, and that annual service contracts are estimated at about $3,500 per instrument.