Public Hearing: YES ? NO ? Department: District Attorney
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): all
Acceptance of $533,200 for the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Cold Case Investigation and Prosecution Program Grant to District Attorney's Office; no match required
Body
Information Contact: Sherry Boston or Roz Harris
Phone Number: 770-294-0369
PURPOSE:
To consider accepting $533,200 under the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Program's Cold Case Investigation and Prosecution Program Grant to the District Attorney's Office for the grant period of October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2026; and
To authorize the CEO to execute all necessary documents.
NEED/IMPACT:
The cold case homicide count in DeKalb County has reached alarming levels at almost 600, and it is continuing to rise. Through BJA's FY 2023 Cold Case Investigation and Prosecution Program, the District Attorney's Office has obtained funding to begin working toward the goal of increasing the number of cold case homicide prosecutions where suspect DNA has already been obtained. Funds will be utilized for contract investigators, data entry staff, and advanced DNA analyses toward the project objectives of reviewing and cataloguing the cases, prioritizing for further investigation based on probability of solvability, sending the most scientifically suitable off for further laboratory testing, and then proceeding with prosecution once suspects begin to be identified. The project will be managed by the District Attorney's Office, with continued support from the existing DeKalb Multidisciplinary Cold Case Team, which is made up of the D.A., Medical Examiner, Police Department, and the GBI, FBI, and ATF. Public and private genetic genealogical testing labs will be utilized for this project
FISCAL IMPACT:
No additional or matching funds are required, and no additional funds are needed to develop the initiative; no funds are being req...
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