Westchester Forensic Sciences Division Receives National Grant

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The Westchester County Division of Forensic Sciences will be receiving a $205,741 grant from the National Institute of Justice DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program, Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, D-Harrison announced Friday.

Lowey, the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, said that law enforcement agencies have used forensic science to develop effective and cutting edge investigative techniques.

“I’m pleased these federal funds will help Westchester increase its capacity to perform DNA analysis and keep dangerous criminals off the streets. I will continue to work with local and regional law enforcement to ensure they have the resources they need to protect and serve our communities,” she said in a prepared release.

The $205,741 will help the Westchester County Division of Forensic Sciences acquire new laboratory supplies and equipment, increase access to training opportunities, obtain a required external quality assurance standards audit to ensure that testing is accurate, and increase the capability of the WCDFS to hire temporary laboratory technician support staff.

These additional resources will enable the WCDFS to reduce the amount of time required to complete casework and preemptively reduce future bottlenecks by substantially minimizing the current backlog of cases.

The goals of the DNA Backlog Reduction Program are to assist eligible states and units of local government to process; record, screen and analyze forensic DNA and DNA database samples; and increase the DNA processing capacity of public forensic DNA and DNA database laboratories in order to reduce the number of forensic samples awaiting analysis.

The National Institute of Justice is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to reduce crime and promote justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

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