The city of philadelphia accounted for 45.1 percent of the violent crimes reported in the commonwealth of pennsylvania and has almost five times more violent crime than allegheny county…

The City of Philadelphia received a $1,375,961 Formula Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program (CFDA 16.036). The grant aims to enhance the Philadelphia Police Department's Office of Forensic Science's capacity to collect, process, and analyze DNA evidence for entry into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to support criminal investigations. Key grant-funded activities include hiring DNA analysts, purchasing laboratory equipment and supplies, providing overtime for case processing, outsourcing backlogged DNA samples, and upgrading laboratory information management systems. This funding is intended to help the city address a growing backlog of DNA evidence submissions, maintain capacity for homicide and sexual assault cases, and expand forensic analysis to other violent and property crimes. The grant period runs from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026.

The city of philadelphia accounted for 45.1 percent of the violent crimes reported in the commonwealth of pennsylvania and has almost five times more violent crime than allegheny county (pittsburgh), which is the second most populous county in pennsylvania. While the number of homicides and shootings have decreased over the past year (-20 percent and -28 percent, respectively), the city previously experienced large increases over the previous ten years. This has led to increased requests for forensic services from the philadelphia police departments office of forensic science (OFS), which is tasked with coordinating the forensic analysis for the city. While the crime trended downward for the year, the requests for DNA analysis continued to moderately increase from the previous year and have increased by 174 percent over four years. Increases in the sensitivity of DNA technology and the successes of test-all approaches for combined DNA index system (codis) entries have resulted in the increased application of DNA analysis. Submissions now include evidence from non-violent crimes, where the evidence may have been handled/touched by an individual and provide investigative information to the investigation. While the total number of submissions has increased, homicide and sexual assault evidence is prioritized, followed by other violent crime with significant investigative value, requests from the court, and probative evidence from non-violent offenses. The unit has built the capacity in recent years to address all homicides and sexual assaults; however, other violent crimes and property crimes are typically processed only upon request. During recent examinations of efficiency, the identified bottlenecks included staffing, facility, technology, and case flow challenges. To deal with these challenges, the office of forensic science developed a comprehensive strategy to utilize base and grant funds to streamline processes and ultimately increase productivity. Several of the recent initiatives that developed from lean six sigma projects have resulted in a 195 percent increase in the operational capacity of the unit since 2016; however, due to significant personnel departures over the past two years, the operational capacity of the unit decreased for the first-time last year. While the overall capacity has decreased, the number of cases completed per examiner has remained consistent, thus maintaining the achievements made through lean six sigma. In order address the current backlog, personnel shortage and the potential increase in evidence submissions, the focus of this grant proposal is to further increase the operational capacity through resources in the form of overtime for current personnel and outsourced vendor services.