Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $56,065)
The 1st Judicial District Attorney dba Caddo Parish’s District Attorney’s Office (CPDA) submits this application to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Department, under its Smart Prosecution – Innovative Prosecution Solutions Grant Program to enhance its prosecutorial operations. The CPDA Office will improve its investigative ability by accessing forensic software through licensing of the GrayKey system. This initiative will allow our office to purchase a two-year license with the GrayKey system by GrayShift. This accessibility allows the CPDA’s Forensic Investigator increase access to forensic data that could lead to more arrest of violent offenders, reducing crime and ensuring the safety of the pubic. Caddo Parish is a high crime area that has high and persistent poverty. Through the Smart Prosecution Initiative, the CPDA’s Office will foster effective and consistent collaborations with the Shreveport Police Department to take more proactive measures to execute search warrants quicker through the incorporation of the GrayKey system. The GrayKey system will allow our Forensic Investigator the access to unlock forensic data from the cell phones of suspects, witnesses, and victims. This increased access will reduce extraction time from months to 72 hours, allowing the Forensic Investigator the ability to execute a search warrant from Shreveport Police Department sooner, ultimately leading to quicker arrest of violent offenders. The Forensic Investigator has over 10 years of experience with secure operating systems, networks, security monitoring, and digital forensics combined with six years in law enforcement and is well equipped to track data and measure performance objectives. Through this project, misdemeanor and felony assistants with the CPDA’s Office, will be able to utilize forensic evidence in the prosecution of violent crimes, creating stronger and more effective prosecution.