We've done very well with what we have, and obviously with every change of legislation. The last one in particular—a 75% increase in the number of DNA samples. That's with a staff of 24 individuals. Our full budgeted staff would be 32.
Originally when this data bank was created it was envisaged at around $5 million a year. What we're averaging is between $2.5 million and $2.8 million, and that's just on supplies, equipment, and basic payroll. There's a lot of other infrastructure that the RCMP provides with regard to security, the building, maintenance, and other things that aren't counted in that annual report estimate. I would think that if there was any change in this legislation, such as time of arrest, we would definitely have to hire more individuals and equip our facilities a bit differently. It's like anything else.
The way the DNA is processed is with a standardized kit. When we first started this technology way back in 1988, some of us were the creators of what is now in the kit internationally. I find myself actually using technology that we helped create. I think it's important to realize that once this becomes commercialized, it also has a price associated with it. So more samples are going to cost more money to process.
The long and short of it is—I think I'm on record—we're pretty good up to about 60,000 samples as long as we escalate our staff numbers and keep upgrading our equipment. Beyond that we will have to very carefully consider the changes that are necessary to absorb more information to develop those DNA profiles.
In terms of the funding, the national data bank has not received any external funding since 2005. It's all money associated through RCMP internal resources at this time, so there is no A-base funding for the national data bank. I think that's one of the issues that certainly the advisory committee has pointed out on a few occasions.
Overall we're doing well, but any changes with technology are going to cost more money, and I think we would have to handle that with more staff and more equipment.
In terms of the estimated cost of change, it largely depends on how big the sample collection and processing umbrella would be. At time of arrest, I think my colleague Mr. Yost has indicated that perhaps 195,000 more samples would be envisaged.
In view of that, depending on the safeguards put in place with such an event, we would also have to take out a number of samples. Potentially 32% of what goes in would have to come out at time of arrest for reasons such as the courts have found the person exonerated, or what have you. With the system we've developed and the privacy and security surrounding it, no one in the national data bank actually knows the identity of the individual they're processing. Because of the number of walls and privacy shields that are put in place, you can imagine what would have to happen to take a sample out. That's an awful lot of work. In some ways, and I don't want to guesstimate on the cost, it could be as expensive to take it out as it is to put in.