Auditor General Sheila Fraser says the RCMP is dealing with a major backlog in the force's DNA testing, causing delays in the justice system.
"Most people will realize that DNA is used in many of the criminal cases around the country," she told CTV's Mike Duffy Live.
"And so if there are long delays, that will obviously delay some of the investigative work and even some of the prosecution."
While the RCMP's forensic service can meet a 15-day turnaround on an urgent basis, Fraser's report said those cases only account for one per cent of all requests.
For the other 99 percent, which includes violent offences, the service is "unable for the most part to meet the 30-day target it has set for them," it said.
The average time for DNA analysis has worsened, going from 91 days in 2003-04 to 114 days in 2005-06 despite increased resources for the service, the report said.
In some cases, murder suspects weren't identified for 11 months because of the problem, it said.
RCMP officials told a parliamentary committee in 2004 that there was no backlog. But Fraser's report documented a backlog of 2,017 analysis requests as of March 2006.
"The backlog has existed for a very long time and is increasing," she told Mike Duffy.
"What we're recommending to the RCMP is that they really need to go through and analyze the process, almost through a process engineering study, to find out where the bottlenecks are and what's causing the delays."
Reporters asked Fraser if those senior Mounties lied to MPs about there not being a backlog in 2004.
"'Lie' to me implies an intent to deceive. I think you have to ask the people concerned for an explanation as to why that happened. It could simply have been an error," she said.
The report identified "significant weaknesses" on how the lab deals with quality issues. Problems with an automated process introduced for testing DNA were particularly noted, given that scientists and investigators noticed the problems immediately. Yet it took the RCMP a year to fix the problems. At least 116 criminal cases may have been affected.
"Given these major shortcomings, overall the RCMP cannot be said to perform satisfactorily in this area," it said.
The RCMP has forensic labs in Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver. Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces that operate their own labs.
Fraser noted that similar issues have been raised in 1990 and 2000 audits by her office, and so it is disappointing to find them still unresolved.
The RCMP said it agrees with the report's findings and is preparing an action plan to address them.
The national police force has experienced a spate of bad publicity lately, one that started with RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli's resignation over the Maher Arar affair. Lately, the force has been embroiled in controversy over problems with its pension and insurance funds.
In other chapters of her report, Fraser found both problems and reasons for praise:
- A Defence Dept. effort to update the NORAD facility in North Bay, Ont. has cost $60 million more than expected.
- Federal farm income programs suffer from red tape, complex rules and payment errors. Some bureaucrats have placed themselves in a conflict of interest position by working as consultants to farmers applying for assistance.
- Justice Canada doesn't measure whether it delivers services in a cost-effective way. The department employs 2,500 lawyers and has a budget of almost $1 billion.
- Foreign Affairs provides few financial inducements for foreign services officers in dangerous postings like Afghanistan.
- While the existing rules need to be followed more closely, no fraud or abuse of government charge cards was detected.
- Federal programs providing financial aid to post-secondary students are well-managed.
With files from The Canadian Press
