The United States finds itself in a precarious position: on the one hand, the more DNA samples collected, the more potential there is to solve crimes; on the other hand, the more samples collected, the more the backlog will grow. The DNA backlog is currently affected by two key areas: casework sample backlogs from crime scenes, victims, and suspects, and convicted offender backlogs from existing offenders that are either incarcerated or under supervision. Backlogs in both areas are growing substantially, however the growth and expansion of forensic laboratories in the United States are not happening. Therefore, the crime laboratories are unable to cope. Eliminating the backlog clearly represents the most pressing problem with critical issues consisting of technical understanding, management of information, and clear ownership. Automation and the use of expert software systems present one solution that forensic scientists in the United States are investigating, specifically robotic instruments. The scale of the backlog problem in the United States has reached frightening proportions with many of the unanalyzed DNA samples relating to sexual assault and murder cases. Every criminal that the United States fails to convict on first offense goes on to commit, on average, an additional six crimes.