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Feds Award Over $2M To Police Forensic Departments In Maryland To Help Relieve Backlog

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The federal government awarded over $2 million to seven police forensic divisions in Maryland to help relieve backlogs of forensic biology and DNA cases, Maryland's Congressional Democrats announced on Wednesday.

Here's a breakdown of where the money will go:

  • $431,315 to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division in Pikesville
  • $260,000 to the Prince George's County Police Department, Forensic Science Division
  • $260,000 to the Forensic Biology Unit of the Anne Arundel County Police Department
  • $401,985 to the Baltimore Police Department Crime Laboratory
  • $222,597 to the Baltimore County Police Department Crime Laboratory
  • $250,000 to the State of Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's toxicology laboratory in Crownsville
  • $260,000 to the Montgomery County Police Crime Laboratory

In a joint statement, U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone said the funding will help keep communities safe.

"Every year, thousands of violent and non-violent crimes – including murders, rapes and assaults – go unsolved because of the backlog in processing DNA for investigations,"the lawmakers said. "This federal funding will keep communities across Maryland safe by providing local jurisdictions with the necessary resources to process vital DNA evidence and analyze forensic data more quickly and accurately."

The funding comes from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the Department of Justice through the BJA DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction (CEBR) program.

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