| Director Jonathon Monken announced today the Illinois State Police (ISP) has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the U. S. Department of Justice to reduce the current DNA backlog. The funding will provide for overtime compensation to employees directly engaged in the handling, screening, and analysis of DNA forensic evidence, and to purchase DNA analytical supplies within the ISP forensic science laboratory system.
“The Illinois State Police is fully committed to reducing the current backlog at its forensics laboratories,” said Director Monken. “The funding provided by the U. S. Department of Justice will assist our Division of Forensic Services to reach this goal by improving response times for the handling and analysis of evidence. “By expediting the processing of evidence, we can help to ensure every case receives more timely attention in order to solve cases, remove criminals from our streets, and ultimately provide better protection for our citizens.”
The ISP Division of Forensic Services applied for the grant funding under the 2009 Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice on June 4, 2009. The proposal outlined a program to reduce the turnaround time and the DNA backlog to ensure test results are quickly submitted to local law enforcement agencies in an effort to help solve crimes faster. Approval of the funding was received on September 11, 2009. The 18-month award period is expected to begin October 1, 2009, and end on March 31, 2011. |
