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DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

FY 2020 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA

Closing Date
This program provides funds to: (1) prosecute violent crime cold cases and (2) decrease the number of violent crime cold cases awaiting prosecution.

FY 2020 Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence

Closing Date
This program will assist in defraying the costs associated with postconviction case review, evidence location, and DNA testing in violent felony cases (as defined by state law) where the results of such testing might show actual innocence.

SAKI Solicitation Released

BJA is seeking applications for funding through the FY 2020 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).

FY 2020 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI)

Closing Date
This program addresses the issue and impact of unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) at law enforcement agencies by improving: (1) state and local jurisdictions’ capacities to respond to violent crime and (2) the functioning of the criminal justice system through the investigation and prosecution of cases resulting from SAK evidence and the collection of lawfully owed DNA.

Forensic-led Policing in Denver

March 2019

Hosted by the BJA National Training and Technical Assistance Center in partnership with the Denver, Colorado Police Department, this October 19, 2016, webinar provided the criminal justice community with information about the Denver Crime Lab, including how their customer-focused philosophy has helped solve crime.

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'Looking backwards can tell us a whole lot about moving forward'

Cleveland suspect
Photo credit: Cleveland.com

When Cuyahoga County, Ohio, embarked on the testing of nearly 7,000 backlogged sexual assault kits (SAKs) in early 2013, metaphors from Greek and Roman mythology abounded in the Cleveland media coverage – 'Herculean task' and 'Pandora's box' chief among them.

Five years on, now that the backlog has been largely cleared, the sense of dread associated with those words has been replaced by one of...

DOJ BJA's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Helps Bring Serial Killer Samuel Little to Justice

The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), an innovative program of the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) which is helping law enforcement agencies nationwide test rape kits and close cold case sexual assaults and homicides, is one of the critical investigative tools that led authorities to believe Samuel Little may be the worst serial killer in American history, by enabling police across...

Over 47,000 Kits Tested Through BJA's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative since 2015

In just 4 years, SAKI has already identified more than 200,000 unsubmitted kits across 54 jurisdictions in 35 states

One untested sexual assault kit can have ramifications far beyond the case for which it was originally collected.

Sexual assault offenders are often serial offenders, either committing multiple sexual assaults or other violent crimes. Testing a sexual assault kit where the perpetrator is known could provide...