SYRACUSE — The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded Onondaga County two grants totaling more than $300,000 to reduce the DNA backlog and improve the timeliness of forensic-science services.
U.S. Representative Daniel Maffei (D–DeWitt) announced the grants in a statement on Tuesday.
Onondaga County will use a grant of more than $239,000 through the department’s DNA Backlog Reduction Program.
It is intended to help state and local governments reduce forensic-DNA sample turnaround time and reduce DNA-casework backlogs, according to Maffei’s office.
The Justice Department awarded a separate grant of $75,000 through the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic-science services and eliminate-forensic evidence backlogs, Maffei’s office said.
“While the DNA and forensic evidence backlog can impede law-enforcement agencies’ ability to act swiftly and keep dangerous criminals off our streets, this funding will provide the crime laboratory in Onondaga County with the resources to analyze forensic evidence more efficiently, giving our public-safety officials the tools necessary to do their jobs,” Maffei said in the release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com