Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $1,524,908)
The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Forensic Science Division (FSD) is a full-service crime laboratory accredited by the American National Standards Institute -American Society for Quality (ANSI-ASQ) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to the International Organization of Standardization- International Electrotechnical Commission’s ISO/IEC 17025 standard. FSD’s Serology/DNA Unit (SDU) is accredited to perform body fluid identification and Nuclear DNA testing, and currently has a staff of 68 personnel.
The LAPD is proposing the FY 2021 LAPD DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program with the goal of increasing laboratory capacity. The program’s objective is to prevent an increase in the number of forensic DNA cases in backlog as well as prevent an increase in the turnaround time for analysis of forensic DNA samples. The program’s objectives will be met by purchasing supplies and instrumentation, increasing personnel hours for forensic DNA sample analysis, and training additional DNA staff.
By utilizing grant funds, the LAPD SDU expects to analyze approximately 542 DNA cases in-house within the 24-month performance period. Grant funds will allow Criminalists to receive training to meet required continuing education requirements and allow the replacement and upgrade of aging instrumentation to increase throughput.