SCHUMER ANNOUNCES OVER $470,000 FOR DNA CRIME LABS IN ERIE COUNTY
Forensic Laboratory Will Utilize Funds for Infrastructure Improvements, Help Prevent Potential Backlog of DNA Testing
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U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department of Justice National Institute of Justice has awarded $474,028 to the County of Erie under the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program to improve DNA laboratory infrastructure and analysis capacity to help process DNA samples more efficiently and cost effectively.
"Using DNA is to modern crime fighting what fingerprinting was a hundred years ago, and this money will go a long way in improving the efficiency and accuracy of DNA sampling." Schumer said. "To effectively fight crime our police need stateoftheart forensic capability. These improvements are essential to preventing potential DNA backlogs and keeping the forensic laboratory in Erie County functioning at the optimum level."
The Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program provides funds for States and units of local government with existing crime laboratories that conduct DNA analysis to improve DNA laboratory infrastructure and analysis capacity so that DNA samples can be processed efficiently and cost effectively, as well as to analyze backlogged forensic DNA casework. These improvements are critical to preventing future DNA backlogs and to helping the criminal justice system use the full potential of DNA technology.
