Forensic Science Operations

The Fort Worth Police Department Crime Lab (FWPD-CL) is a multi-disciplinary laboratory that provides forensic services, including serology and DNA testing.  The primary customers are members of the Forth Worth Police Department (FWPD) and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office (TC-DA).  The Crime Lab is accredited by the Texas Forensic  Science Commision and ANAB until December 31,2026 and adheres to ANAB's accreditation standards, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories.

The City of Fort Worth seeks funding through the FY 2023 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction Program- Formula in the amount of $708,323.00 to improve services provided by the FWPD-CL. 

The primary purpose of this project is to reduce the number of cases awaiting analysis (i.e. backlog), thereby also reducing the turnaround times of the Biology Unit casework.  Funding is requested to pay for the following activities: 

Provide funds to outsource evidence to an accredited laboratory to reduce the number of cases awaiting analysis.  Outsourcing will reduce the number of cases awaiting testing and therefore have a positive impact on the case backlog.
Provide funds to maintain a Property Control Specialist (PCS) (salary and fringe benefits) to increase the capacity to assist in the processing of more CODIS samples for entry by inventorying, documenting, and transferring evidence for secure, long-term storage where the evidence is waiting for the Detective investigating the case to determine whether or not DNA testing of the evidence is necessary.  If DNA testing is successfully performed and the evidence meets the eligibility requirements, the DNA profile will be entered into CODIS.  We anticipate employing the PCS from October 1, 2024- September 30,2025.