FY 2018 DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), as mandated by Chapter 943 Florida Statutes, operates a statewide forensic crime laboratory system to provide timely, expert and professional examination of evidentiary materials to aid in the investigation, prosecution and exclusion of criminal offenses in the state of Florida.

The Biology/DNA needs of Florida’s criminal justice community are serviced by a network of FDLE laboratories and five local laboratories that comprise the Florida crime laboratory system. FDLE has six internationally accredited DNA laboratories that provide Biology/ DNA analysis services.
The heavy demand for Biology services continued in 2017, with over 20,000 Biology cases released. The large volume of cases have been attributed to a number of factors including Florida’s 20 million population and continued high volume of reported crime (646,929 index crimes as of last available report in 2016).

With funding provided under this award, the FDLE plans to achieve a reduction in the forensic DNA case backlog, an increase in DNA analysis throughput, and an increase in laboratory capacity.

NCA/NCF