Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2018, $830,044)
The Philadelphia Police Department, Office of Forensic Science (OFS) is responsible for analyzing evidentiary material, associated with criminal investigations for the City of Philadelphia. The Criminalistics Unit in OFS is responsible for screening evidence for biological material and conducting DNA analysis.
According to the FBI Crime in the United States report, the City of Philadelphia has accounted for approximately 40 percent of the Violent Part 1 Crimes reported in the State of Pennsylvania over the past five years (2012 2016). During this time period, the Philadelphia Police Department has also faced budgetary constraints that have led to a plateau of internal funding and a decrease in available federal grant funds; however, the demand for services from the Criminalistics Unit for DNA testing continues to expand.
Increases in the sensitivity of DNA technology and the success of CODIS entries has resulted in the increased application of DNA analysis to any evidence that is known to have been handled/touched by an individual probative to the investigation. The DNA Laboratory routinely processes both violent and non-violent crimes, to include property crimes, based on the significant investigative value of DNA and requests from the court system.
NCA/NCF