Solving Cold Cases With DNA

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With this solicitation, NIJ seeks applications from States and units of local government for funding to identify, review, and investigate “violent crime cold cases” that have the potential to be solved using DNA analysis, and to locate and analyze the biological evidence associated with these cases. Experience has shown that cold case programs can solve a substantial number of violent crime cold cases, including homicides and sexual assaults. Advances in DNA technologies have substantially increased the successful DNA analysis of aged, degraded, limited, or otherwise compromised biological evidence. As a result, crime scene samples once thought to be unsuitable for testing may now yield DNA profiles. Additionally, samples that previously generated inconclusive DNA results may now be successfully analyzed. For the purposes of this announcement: a “violent crime cold case” refers to any unsolved UCR Part 1 Violent Crime case for which all significant investigative leads have been exhausted. Authorizing Legislation: Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112–55).

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