The prince georges county police department, maryland will utilize this award to supplement the efforts of the prince georges county police department and the state attorneys office in solving serious…

The Prince George's County Police Department, Maryland was awarded a $250,000 Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program (CFDA 16.036). The grant will be used to supplement the police department's and state attorney's office's efforts to solve serious violent crimes such as homicides and sexual assaults, including "cold cases" where investigations have stalled. Specifically, the funding will support the use of forensic genetic genealogy and advanced DNA technology to investigate these unsolved cases and bring offenders to justice. The award has an initial project period of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2027.

The prince georges county police department, maryland will utilize this award to supplement the efforts of the prince georges county police department and the state attorneys office in solving serious violent crimes such as homicides and sexual assaults. Over the years, in many of these cases, the investigation has unfortunately come to a standstill, leading to what has been referred to as cold cases. The prince georges county police department and the state attorneys office are committed to exploring ways to solve these cases. This grant will support using new tools to investigate these unsolved cases. One avenue of investigation that holds great promise is the continued use of forensic genetic genealogy and the advancement in DNA technology. The prince georges county police departments DNA laboratory has identified DNA samples of unidentified offenders collected at the crime scene or from victims. Many of these cases are from unsolved homicides and sexual assaults. With advances in DNA technology and forensic genetic genealogy, many cases can be solved, and the offender can be brought to justice. This new generation of scientific testing holds great promise; grant funding would be used primarily to cover the costs associated with this method of investigation, which involves the latest that science has to offer.