JUNEAU (AP) - Alaska law enforcement agencies failed to collect DNA samples from more than 21,000 people arrested for or convicted of certain crimes over the past 25 years, in part because of confusion caused by changes to state law, officials said.

The state Department of Public Safety identified 21,577 individuals who were required to have a DNA sample on file but did not. Of those, 1,555 are dead, the report states.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Aug. 10 announced plans for the state to pursue samples in the remaining cases. It’s not clear, though, how long that process might take or how many m...