FY 24 DNA CEBR Program - Formula

The New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences serves over nine million residents in the state of New Jersey and is comprised of four regional forensic laboratories and the DNA laboratory. The DNA Casework Unit analyzes biological evidence for the presence of DNA. Profiles generated from evidentiary items can then be directly compared to the profile of a reference sample to determine whether that person could have contributed that DNA. In addition, eligible DNA profiles from evidentiary items can be searched in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database to generate potential investigative leads.

One of the goals of this grant is to reduce the backlog through the processing of casework samples. Therefore, funding from this grant will be used to pay overtime for analysts who will work on reducing the backlog outside of their core working hours. This will allow for additional time to perform analysis on additional cases and upload the resultant DNA profiles into CODIS. This will also enable analysts to work on current casework and validations during the normal course of the day while maintaining delivery of timely DNA results without interruption.

Funding will be used to hire additional support staff, implement a DNA module for sample management and tracking, and purchase additional equipment. These steps will aid the lab in its daily operations, enable replacement of aging equipment, and increase the capability of the lab to analyze DNA evidence more efficiently.

Funding will also allow staff to attend discipline-related conferences and participate in on-site training to ensure that all analysts meet the continuing education requirements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Quality Assurance Standards.

Another goal of this grant is to increase capacity. The Office of Forensic Sciences will achieve this by implementing the best available technologies and employing the best resources for more efficient processing of forensic DNA evidence. The purchases of equipment and supplies for the validation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) will enable the DNA lab to employ more advanced technologies to process samples that would normally fail to produce probative results. NGS will provide an additional resource for agencies that submit evidence to the lab for forensic testing.

With the aid of funding from the FY24 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction grant program, forensic services offered by the DNA Laboratory to the law enforcement community and the citizens of New Jersey will be greatly improved and will help bring justice to those who commit crime.