Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2017, $195,855)
The North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory (NLCL) is the agency responsible for analyzing evidentiary material associated with criminal investigations for law enforcement agencies and medical examiners within 29 parishes of the state of Louisiana.
The DNA section of the NLCL is currently hiring new analysts in order to replenish the DNA staff. Grant funding is needed for the NLCL to increase its capacity in order to make more efficient use of currently qualified analysts time. The lab is proposing to purchase equipment and quantitation kit validation.
The NLCL proposes to use the funds from this project to meeting the following goals:
1. Increase its capacity for quick and efficient sample extraction.
2. Allowing an outside agency to validate a new quant kit so that the NLCL can focus on training new DNA analysts within the laboratory
3. Providing the required FBI QAS continuing education for six DNA analysts
The NLCL can expect to increase its capacity to analyze more DNA cases with the introduction of more purification instruments. These purchases will allow for an increase in the efficiency of the analysts ability to work more samples without interfering with other analysts attempting to use the same equipment. An increase in efficiency will ultimately result in a decrease in turnaround time
nca/ncf