§ 29-4105 — DNA samples and records; access restrictions; Nebraska State Patrol; duties

(1) The Nebraska State Patrol shall prescribe procedures to be used in the collection, submission, identification, analysis, storage, and disposition of DNA samples in the State DNA Sample Bank and DNA records in the State DNA Database. These procedures shall include quality assurance guidelines for laboratories which submit DNA records to the State DNA Database and shall also require that all laboratories be accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors-LAB-Laboratory Accreditation Board or the National Forensic Science Technology Center or by any other national accrediting body or public agency which has requirements that are substantially equivalent to or more comprehensive than those of the society or center. The State DNA Database shall be compatible with the procedures specified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the use of comparable test procedures, laboratory equipment, supplies, and computer software. The DNA records shall be securely stored in the State DNA Database and retained in a manner consistent with the procedures established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2) The Nebraska State Patrol may contract with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to establish the State DNA Sample Bank at the medical center and for DNA typing tests. The State DNA Sample Bank shall serve as the repository of DNA samples collected under the DNA Identification Information Act and other forensic casework. Any such contract shall require that the University of Nebraska Medical Center be subject to the same restrictions and requirements of the act, insofar as applicable, as the Nebraska State Patrol, as well as any additional restrictions imposed by the patrol.
(3) The DNA samples and DNA records shall only be used by the Nebraska State Patrol (a) to create a separate population database comprised of DNA records obtained after all personal identification is removed and (b) for quality assurance, training, and research purposes related to human DNA identification. The patrol may share or disseminate the population database with other law enforcement agencies or forensic DNA laboratories which assist the patrol with statistical databases. The population database may be made available to and searched by other agencies participating in the Combined DNA Index System.
(4) Except for records and samples expunged under section 29-4109 , the Nebraska State Patrol shall permanently retain DNA samples and records of an individual obtained under section 29-4106 . Any other DNA samples and records related to forensic casework, other than those used for research or quality control, shall not be permanently retained but shall be retained only as long as needed for a criminal investigation or criminal prosecution.
(5) If the Nebraska State Patrol determines after analysis that a forensic sample has been submitted by an individual who has been eliminated as a suspect in a crime, the patrol or the law enforcement agency which submitted the sample shall destroy the DNA sample and record in the presence of a witness. After destruction, the patrol or law enforcement agency shall make and keep a written record of the destruction, signed by the individual who witnessed the destruction. After the patrol or the law enforcement agency destroys the DNA sample and record, it shall notify the individual if he or she is not a minor or the parent or legal guardian of a minor by certified mail that the sample and record have been destroyed. Destruction of a DNA sample and record under this section shall not be considered the offense of tampering with physical evidence under section 28-922 .

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1997, LB 278, § 5; Laws 2001, LB 432, § 7; Laws 2006, LB 385, § 6.