Office of Chief Medical Examiner Marks Year of Advances for Public Health and Safety of New Yorkers
December 21, 2023
Initiatives to Accelerate DNA Testing of Gun Crime Evidence and Support Families Affected by Fatal Overdoses Shaped Progress in 2023
NEW YORK – The Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) concluded the year with marked growth in new initiatives while providing 24/7 services to support the health and safety of New Yorkers. Despite elevated caseloads, the agency continues to accelerate the testing time for DNA testing of gun crime evidence and engage families affected by fatal overdoses.
“As we look back on the year, we are grateful for the many opportunities to bring advanced science in service of families experiencing the most challenging moments of their lives,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. “Now and in the new year to come, we will continue to work tirelessly in support of our core functions while making progress with innovations that promote public health and safety for all New Yorkers.”
Highlights from the past year include:
Supporting a Safer City through Science: The DNA Gun Crimes Unit achieved its goal of an unprecedented 30-day turnaround time for testing gun crime evidence within one year of the formation of the unit, the first team of its kind in the country, funded by a $2.5 million investment announced last year by Mayor Eric Adams to hire and train 24 new forensic scientists dedicated solely to the analysis of gun crime evidence.
Addressing the Overdose Crisis with Innovations: The Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group expanded from a pilot program to a team of social workers engaging hundreds of family members who have lost loved ones to fatal drug overdoses with services including grief counseling and connections to additional support resources, using opioid settlement funds.
Applying Advanced Technology to Find Answers for Families: Continuing its solemn promise, OCME identified the remains of two previously unidentified victims of the World Trade Center attacks, representing the 1,648th and 1,649th persons to be identified using advanced DNA technology since 2001.
This year, OCME also hosted the sixth installment of NYC Missing Persons Day, the event credited with serving hundreds of families and making more than 30 identifications of long-term missing and unidentified persons in the metropolitan region over the past decade.
Shaping the Future of Forensic Pathology: The agency continued to train forensic pathologists through its fellowship program, ensuring a pipeline of these highly specialized professionals for New York City as the country faces a shortage of medical examiners. These and other OCME experts will staff the state-of-the-art Manhattan Forensic Pathology Center to be constructed in the new life sciences development of the Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC) at Kips Bay, which will serve New Yorkers 24/7 and nurture future generations of scientists.
In addition to these advancements, throughout the year OCME continued its core work to support public health and safety. As the nation’s largest and most comprehensive such agency, OCME is home to world-class, fully accredited laboratories, a renowned mass fatality management program, and 24/7 investigators serving the five boroughs.