Center for Forensic Science

The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program (Byrne Discretionary Program) helps local communities improve the capacity of local justice systems and provides for national support efforts. This project is authorized and funded through a line item in the FY 08 Congressional Budget. Funds should be used for purposes recommended by Congress.

Utah Valley State College will develop and implement a forensic science program in the Legal Studies, Chemistry, and Computer Science Departments. The grant will fund equipment and start-up supplies needed to support teaching crime scene investigation, evidence collection, and fingerprint and image analysis.

Currently, employers hiring new crime scene specialists, evidence technicians, and forensic laboratory scientists often need to provide additional training that is expensive and not consistently available. Training opportunities cannot accommodate all who need the training and are not available at a single location. A forensic science program is not offered at any institution of higher education in Utah, or in any states contiguous to Utah except Colorado.

The implementation of the new Bachelors of Science degree in forensic science is expected to take three or four years. Utah Valley State College is asking for funding for the fourth year of implementation. This award will be used to pay for chemistry trace analysis equipment; digital media equipment for enhancing and authenticating video, voice, and photographic evidence; equipment for fingerprint recovery; and various supplies to be used while operating the equipment and teaching.

NCA/NCF