SHERIFF'S STATION JOINS IN EFFORT TO COLLECT DNA; INVESTIGATORS GIVE NOTICE TO REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

Faced with a backlog of more than 70,000 DNA samples sitting at the state Department of Justice's crime lab in Berkeley, authorities are focusing efforts on processing the DNA of sex offenders because of their tendency to repeat their crimes.

Under a new state law that provides funding for law enforcement to record genetic material, the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station has joined the effort to collect DNA samples by notifying registered sex offenders that they must submit their palm prints and DNA to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

While sheriff's investigators have notified at least 63 registrants about the requirement, authorities must now determine the logistics of taking samples.

``It's a matter of obtaining the samples in a medically approved manner,'' said sheriff's Detective James Anderson.

Investigators are determining whether the samples will be taken at a county facility or by a nurse employed by the Sheriff's Department.

The process will take several weeks, said sheriff's Sgt. Howard Fairchild.

The samples will offer authorities a way to link the DNA obtained from offenders to cases in which prosecutors believe the rapist is a repeat offender.

Convicted sex offenders have been required to submit blood samples before leaving prison since 1984, but samples now are being collected from those freed before that date. In 1990, violent offenders were also required to submit their blood samples. It wasn't until 1992 that the state formed a DNA databank and authorities began tackling an eight-year backlog of samples.

The samples are stored in freezers and the DNA profiles are processed by computer. To reduce possible error, the offenders' fingerprints are put on the vile of their blood sample so the prints can be matched with the DNA, said Department of Justice spokesman Michael Van Winkle.

Van Winkle recalled one case in which authorities linked a convicted rapist's DNA to a series of rapes on a bike trail in Orange County.

Genetic analyses performed on semen obtained from the rape victims matched that of a convicted sex offender, Van Winkle said.

From 1992 to 1996, the DNA samples were processed manually at a rate of 5,000 samples per year. In 1996, officials began using computers to process the samples, increasing the rate per year to 20,000, said Janelle Beland, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office.

However, with about 14,000 new samples to process each year, the Department of Justice is still catching up.

In Los Angeles County, there are 277 registered high-risk sex offenders and 16,437 serious offenders. As of April 1, there are about 16 registered high-risk offenders in Ventura County and 1,024 serious offenders.

In 1998, the DNA and Forensic Identification Data Base and Data Bank Act passed, providing funding to jails not previously equipped to collect DNA samples.

Van Winkle said state prisons have done a good job of collecting DNA samples, adding that the new law should help with collection in local jail facilities.