Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2017, $108,332)
In Oklahoma numerous law enforcement agencies provide forensic science and/or medical examiner services in one, or more than one, of the most common forensic science disciplines.
The State of Oklahoma will use grant funds to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic science and medical examiner services for the criminal justice system in the State of Oklahoma and to reduce or eliminate the backlog of evidence in forensic science cases by funding five (5) state and local forensic science labs. The labs in this proposal include the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) the Ardmore Police Department (APD), the Norman Police Department (NPD), and the Tulsa Police Department (TPD).
As the state administering agency for the Coverdell grants, the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council will use approximately ten percent of the allocated funds for personnel costs and operating expenses needed to implement the grant program. The remaining funds will be allocated to the five (5) participating labs based on the number of full-time analysts at the individual lab compared to the total number of analysts for all participating labs.
Two agencies (OCME and OSBI) are requesting grant funds for travel and registration fees to attend professional training conferences and three agencies (APD, NPD, and TPD) will be using grant funds for annual laboratory accreditation fees.
Other requested expenses will include personnel and benefits and equipment (OSBI and TPD) to further help reduce the backlog of evidence and speed up turnaround time.
nca/ncf