Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces $1.3 Million to Reduce the DNA Backlog at Local Police Departments and Crime Labs

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-MD), and U.S. Representatives Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-06), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), and Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) announced $1,322,514 in federal funding to help relieve backlogs of forensic biology and DNA testing impacting Maryland crime labs and local police departments. The funding will help these departments address staffing shortages, provide training, and purchase equipment to increase DNA processing capacity.

"Backlogs in DNA processing can create roadblocks to solving many violent and non-violent crimes. This federal investment will equip local jurisdictions with the tools and resources to process evidence more efficiently and deliver accurate, timely results for the good of Maryland communities," said the lawmakers.

The lawmakers announced the following grants:

• $94,000 to the Prince George's County Police Department, Forensic Science Division, to outsource DNA evidence from backlogged cases.
  
• $119,000 to the Montgomery County Police Crime Laboratory to outsource 11-17 DNA cases to an accredited and licensed laboratory and purchase 15 laptops and 5 rolling carts to enhance mobility, streamline documentation, and support software for DNA interpretation.
  
• $298,000 to the Baltimore County Police Department Crime Laboratory to obtain training and software upgrades to strengthen staff expertise in DNA mixture interpretation and to purchase equipment such as pipettes, a PCR hood, evidence drying lockers, and tablets.
  
• $394,000 to the Baltimore Police Department Crime Laboratory to support the salaries of two sample processing scientists and two sample screening scientists, and to train forensic scientists to continue producing accurate DNA analyses.
  
• $417,514 to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division in Pikesville to outsource approximately 168 CODIS-eligible cases to a private laboratory, acquire three mini centrifuges to replace outdated equipment, maintain support for STRmix probabilistic genotyping software, purchase DBLR software to improve the analysis of complex mixtures, and provide 20 continuing education opportunities for staff.
  

The funding comes from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the Department of Justice through the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction (CEBR) program, which the lawmakers have continued to support with robust funding through Congress's annual appropriations process.