FY 2013 Justice Assistance Grant Program

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG) allows states and units of local government, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own state and local needs and conditions. Grant funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice, including for any one or more of the following program areas: 1) law enforcement programs; 2) prosecution and court programs; 3) prevention and education programs; 4) corrections and community corrections programs; 5) drug treatment and enforcement programs; 6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; and 7) crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

The city of Glendale, which runs the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory, plans to use the FY 2013 JAG funds to purchase an automated liquid handling robot. The project goals are to allow the laboratory to streamline aspects of DNA analysis procedures that are labor and time intensive, as well as increase analyst productivity and minimize human error caused by repetitive manual processing.

NCA/NCF