The Department of Justice has awarded $210 million in grants to finance crime laboratories, research, DNA backlog reduction and efforts to find missing persons.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance and National Institute of Justice within DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs administer these funds, the department said Thursday.
The grants include over $89.6 million for DOJ’s DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program, which supports state and local crime laboratories working on DNA analysis.
DOJ will also invest $43 million in BJA’s National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative that bolsters investigations and prosecutions based on sexual assault kit evidence.
“These awards provide critical resources that will allow investigators, crime lab professionals and forensic specialists to solve crimes, bring answers to victims and ensure that the principles of fairness and equity are fully reflected in our criminal justice practices,” said Amy Solomon, OJP’s principal deputy assistant attorney general.