Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2018, $1,710,751)
The North Carolina State Crime Laboratory has the responsibility of providing forensic DNA analysis and a convicted offender/arrestee database for the entire state. Funding from this grant will be used to increase capacity; reduce the number of backlogged cases in the Forensic Biology Section; and maintain the capacity of the Database Section for the analysis of database samples and their upload into CODIS.
The Forensic Biology Section currently has a backlog of approximately 850 Forensic Biology/DNA cases. Since June 2014, this backlog has been reduced from over 4,000 cases. Prior success in this area has been maintained, in part, through grant funding for laboratory supplies, laboratory instrumentation, and overtime for analysts.
Due to previously implemented efficiencies in its casework process, the section no longer utilizes overtime, but it does plan to continue the model of requesting additional funds for laboratory supplies. A request for training travel has been made to help provide continuing education opportunities for analysts in the Forensic Biology and Database Sections. These requests coupled with continued process improvements, and addition of a new regional laboratory will aid the section in increasing its capacity. Based on this increase, the Section expects the number of backlog cases and the turn-around time to continue to decrease.
NCA/NCF