Rapid DNA Implementation Checklist for Public Safety Leaders 

1. Strategic Alignment

• Define clear goals, booking ID, investigative leads, disaster response
• Confirm compliance with state laws and CODIS requirements
• Secure buy-in from command staff, prosecutors, and city leadership

2. Partnerships and Coordination

• Engage early with your forensic laboratory
• Align with prosecutors and courts on case use
• Coordinate with IT and security for data protection

3. Policy and Governance

• Establish written policies for collection, analysis, storage, and expungement
• Define qualifying case types and prohibited uses
• Build in oversight, audits, and chain-of-custody safeguards

4. Operational Readiness

• Decide placement of instruments, laboratory, booking station, mobile site, disaster response
• Train officers and booking staff on authorized tasks and identify non-authorized tasks
• Set expectations, about 90 minutes for results, not all eligible for CODIS
• Build workflows for immediate follow-up on hits, follow-on analyses, lab consultations

5. Technical and Resource Planning

• Budget for equipment, reagents, and maintenance
• Validate technology through the laboratory
• Start with a pilot or phased rollout
• Maintain vendor support agreements

6. Legal and Ethical Framework

• Define expungement processes
• Address privacy and civil liberties concerns
• Prepare for courtroom scrutiny

7. Community Trust

• Communicate openly with the public and jurisdiction officials (city council, etc)
• Be transparent about limits and safeguards
• Provide regular reports on outcomes

8. Continuous Improvement

• Learn from other agencies’ successes and challenges
• Track performance metrics, hits, turnaround times, investigative value
• Update policies as laws and technology evolve

Rapid DNA is not just a machine. It is a system that requires leadership, oversight, and community trust to deliver results.