A new state law requiring collection of DNA samples from all convicted felons will take years to implement and police and state officials don't know where the funding, staff and space to store the samples will come from.

The law went into effect July 1, but state officials are still planning how to collect samples from a felony population that has grown by an average of 2,079 new felons a year over the past five years. Prior to the law coming on line, DNA samples were required from anyone convicted of felony murder or sex assault.

Felons incarcerated in the state's prison system will also have to be swabbed. As of July 4, samples had been taken from only 16 percent — 966 of 6,043 — of the inmates incarcerated in the state.

Frank Lopez, deputy director of corrections for the state department of public safety, said samples need to be collected from about 80 percent of the remaining inmates.

"It's a huge task because we have 1,700 prisoners on the Mainland," said Lopez in an interview this month. "First of all, we need the supplies and the burden falls on the AG's office to get the supplies. This legislation didn't have any money attached to it, so that's going to be some limitations there. Once we get the supplies, we have to identify who gets swabbed, implement procedures to get them swabbed, identify personnel (to swab them), and figure out if training is involved. Where do we send the samples? Who's going to warehouse these samples? Before and after, it's a huge, huge job."

There are more than 40,000 felons in the state, according to the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center.

Law-enforcement agencies around the country are bolstering DNA databases in an effort to match criminals with unsolved cases and to exonerate those wrongly convicted.

But the sudden surge in DNA samples has overwhelmed state and local crime labs that are often understaffed and underfunded. While law-enforcement officials recognize the value of DNA evidence, they acknowledge that collecting, processing and storing the samples is a big task.

The federal government is assisting states when they qualify for grant funding, since the state records are feeding into a national database, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

A February report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 1,900 additional full-time lab workers at a cost of $70 million would be needed across the country to reduce the backlog in forensic laboratories to 30 days for both DNA samples and other crime lab work, which includes fingerprint and fiber analysis and ballistics.

Currently, the Honolulu Police Department operates the only crime lab in the state that can process and store DNA samples.

The DNA serology section of HPD's crime lab is staffed by four full-time workers and two contract employees, and law-enforcement officials are concerned that there is no logistical way for the lab to collect and input the necessary samples in a timely fashion. Recently, Joanne Furuya, the department's Scientific Investigation Section head, said the lab would need to expand, receive more money and hire at least four more technicians to comply with the state law.

"It will be difficult and stressful for our DNA analysts," she said during a tour of the lab on Tuesday.

According to the attorney general's office, collecting, processing, and uploading a single sample could cost between $50 and $85.

DNA lab technicians need to train constantly, as technology and practices in the field evolve rapidly. Training is time-consuming and expensive.

Wayne Kimoto, HPD's forensic lab supervisor, recognizes the large task before him but says it is no different than what other national, full-service crime labs are dealing with.

"We anticipate that it will be a challenge," he said. "But until we get going, then we can decide how our resources can accommodate or how our resources have to be adjusted to meet the requirements of the statute."

The DNA serology unit can clear about four cases a month with current resources and staffing, Kimoto said.

Despite the questions surrounding the law's implementation, law-enforcement officials say it gives police and prosecutors a valuable resource.

DNA evidence is "valuable not only so you catch the guy but to make sure you don't catch the wrong guy," said city prosecutor Peter Carlisle. "It's a good thing for everybody to make sure the people who are in fact guilty are prosecuted."

When the state law was signed in June, Hawai'i was one of only 12 states that did not collect DNA samples from all convicted felons.

"New scientific techniques have made DNA evidence an important tool in solving crimes," said Mark Bennett, state attorney general, in a June news release. "The new law expands DNA testing to help law-enforcement professionals bring criminals to justice. It also creates procedures by which DNA may help to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted."

There is no five-year plan in place for getting the law up and running, according to the AG's office.

"We don't have a specific five- to 10-year plan," said Bridget Holthus, special assistant to the state attorney general, in an August interview. "We'll phase the law in as soon as practical. We're going to do it right."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.