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Median time to complete DNA sexual assault cases from evidence submission to report (days)
Provide services to the City for forensic purposes. — Provide timely and accurate laboratory services for criminal justice purposes.
OCME reports that a case-to-case contamination incident identified in its DNA laboratory in August 2024 triggered a formal Root Cause Analysis and quality-control holds on affected case types, which slowed processing across the lab, including sexual-assault DNA cases. The agency also cites a new laboratory information management system, installed in July 2025, that required extensive staff retraining as a further factor in the longer turnaround times seen in FY25 and FY26; OCME states these cases continued to meet the 90-day internal target during this period.
Researched July 16, 2026 — NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Preliminary Fiscal 2026 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 50 days | 45 days |
| FY23 | 51 days | 90 days |
| FY24 | 40 days | 90 days |
| FY25 | 61 days | 90 days |
| FY26 (YTD) | 95 days | 90 days |
Why this is tracked
OCME's forensic laboratories, including the nation's only public molecular genetics laboratory, process the DNA and other physical evidence that police investigators and courts rely on to solve crimes and clear the wrongly suspected. In 1998 its Department of Forensic Biology became the first lab in the country to use Y-chromosome STR testing in casework, and a dedicated 2001-2003 project eliminated the city's backlog of untested sexual assault kits; the city has not had a backlog since. The lab also compares profiles against the FBI's national CODIS database to generate new leads in cold cases.
Source: Forensic Biology Laboratory — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: Median number of days from the time OCME receives the case to complete sexual assault cases that require DNA analysis.