Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2024, $436,925)
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement and forensic laboratory services to Oakland County and its neighboring communities in southeast Michigan – a population of more than 1.2 million residents. In addition to its local customer base, the Sheriff’s Office provides services to more than 50 regional and federal agencies. FY24 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) formula funding is requested to support the Forensic Science Laboratory’s mission: to provide its clients, the criminal justice system, and the individuals of the communities that it serves with the highest quality of forensic services in an efficient and timely manner.
Specifically, grant funds will be used to retain three DNA analyst positions that were established with prior year CEBR funding for an additional 12-month period. Collectively, these analysts will have a critical impact on casework throughput, helping to reduce the laboratory’s backlog of crime scene samples awaiting DNA analysis. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office expects a minimum of 180 cases to be completed with CEBR funding during the FY24 award period, above and beyond what the laboratory is capable of analyzing without continued grant support.