You are on page 1of 3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006 (202) 514-2007


WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Department of Justice Announces $125


Million
in Grants for President Bush's DNA
Initiative
and Other Crime-Solving Forensic
Services
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has awarded more than $125
million in grants nationwide as part of President Bush's DNA Initiative, Advancing
Justice Through DNA Technology, and for other crime-solving forensic services.
The DNA Initiative was launched in 2003 and is a five-year, $1 billion commitment
to improve the nation's capacity to use DNA evidence by eliminating casework and
convicted offender backlogs; funding research and development; improving crime
lab capacity; providing training for all stakeholders in the criminal justice system;
and conducting testing to identify the missing and protect the innocent. In addition
to the funding provided through the DNA Initiative, $18.5 million has been awarded
to improve criminal justice forensic services. The grants will be administered by the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, development, and evaluation arm of
the Department of Justice.

"DNA and other forensic evidence have proven to be valuable tools that have
changed the landscape for law enforcement in solving crimes and removing
criminals from our streets and communities," said Attorney General Alberto R.
Gonzales. "Through the President's DNA Initiative, crime victims and their families
can know that law enforcement in their community have the best forensic tools
available on their side."

While DNA technology is helping to solve crimes and exonerate the innocent across
the country, many public crime laboratories are not fully equipped to handle the
increased demand for DNA testing. Some laboratories have large backlogs of
unanalyzed DNA samples from convicted offenders and crime scenes, which can
significantly delay criminal investigations and the administration of justice.
However, progress has been made since the DNA Initiative began. In March 2003,
the Department estimated that the backlog of rape and homicide cases was
approximately 350,000. To date, NIJ has provided over $76 million to perform
DNA analysis on samples in over 48,000 cases. Since 2003, the FBI’s Combined
DNA Index System (CODIS) database of DNA samples has increased from 52,000
to more than 144,000 unique DNA profiles from crimes.

In March 2003, the Department estimated that the number of backlogged DNA-
convicted offender samples was between 200,000 and 300,000, and that another
500,000 to 1 million samples had yet to be collected from offenders who were
required by law to give such a sample. To date, NIJ has paid for the analysis of over
1.2 million samples. In Fiscal Year 2006, NIJ will pay for the analysis of over
800,000 additional samples. Since 2003, the FBI’s CODIS database has grown from
1.3 million DNA profiles of known offenders to over 3.4 million. Extensive training
materials and programs have been developed for police, prosecutors, defense
attorneys, and judges, forensic scientists, medical personnel, victim service
providers, corrections officers, and probation and parole officers.

NIJ has funded research on tools to analyze smaller pieces of evidence, highly-
degraded evidence, and to make DNA analysis less costly. Since 2003, NIJ has
made grants in excess of $14 million for new research on DNA tools and
techniques. In fiscal year 2006 NIJ will make an additional $12.2 million in
research, development and evaluation grants for DNA and other areas of forensic
science.

Nationwide, in fiscal year 2006 NIJ has awarded over $73 million to help
eliminate DNA sample backlogs. Of that $73 million, $19.2 million will be for DNA
casework; $39.5 million for DNA laboratory capacity building; and $14.9 million
for convicted offender testing. The Department is investing $3.7 million for DNA
training; $12.2 million for DNA and forensics research, development and
evaluation; $2 million for use of DNA in missing persons cases, and $4.9 million to
the National Institute of Standards and Technology for development of forensic
science tools and standards. In addition, $3.9 million soon will be made available
for post conviction DNA testing assistance. More information about President
Bush's DNA Initiative can be found at http://www.dna.gov. NIJ has also awarded
$18.5 million for Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants that can be
applied to improving non-DNA forensic services. This funding represents the largest
amount of money provided by the Department to support state and local forensic
efforts. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in
developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice,
and assist victims. OJP is headed by an Assistant Attorney General and comprises
five component bureaus and an office: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau
of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as the
Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed
strategy and OJP's American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk. More
information can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

###

06-675

You might also like