The Office of Justice Programs has announced awards of more than $45 million to help law enforcement agencies and crime labs process sexual assault evidence and increase the number of sexual assault kits submitted to crime labs in order to solve more crimes, including cold cases. Grants were awarded through the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence ‒ Inventory, Tracking and Reporting program.
“These grants will help state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies reduce the number of unsubmitted sexual assault kits, expand their capacity for handling forensic evidence in the future, resolve more sexual assault cases and bring a measure of justice to victims of sexual assault,” said Kendel Ehrlich, Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
View the press release to learn more. Also see the associated fact sheet for a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and the jurisdictions that will receive funding.