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Interacting With Crime Laboratories
Funding Concerns
Funding concerns affect every agency and crime laboratory in the country. Addressing these concerns requires the development of a comprehensive approach with best practices that take into consideration the multitude of factors that influence funding and budget allocations. These best practices may include the following:
- Determine/assess resource needs9,10
- Identify available funding sources
- Develop a collective MDT (Multi-Disciplinary Team) to obtain funding that includes local, federal and state law enforcement; prosecution agencies; and local advocacy groups
- Actively work with local advocacy groups to engage the community
- Provide an accurate assessment of the backlog and possible remedies
- Work with the public information office to develop a media strategy
- Engage the legislature through an active liaison
- Get involved in the legislative process through understanding earmarked funding, investigative protocols and tracking cold case hits
- Develop a sustainability strategy and gain organizational commitment to that strategy
9 National Conference of State Legislatures: Database of DNA Laws: Federal Funding Sources »
10 National Institute of Justice Funding »
Additional Online Courses
- What Every First Responding Officer Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes
- DNA – A Prosecutor’s Practice Notebook
- Crime Scene and DNA Basics
- Laboratory Safety Programs
- DNA Amplification
- Population Genetics and Statistics
- Non-STR DNA Markers: SNPs, Y-STRs, LCN and mtDNA
- Firearms Examiner Training
- Forensic DNA Education for Law Enforcement Decisionmakers
- What Every Investigator and Evidence Technician Should Know About DNA Evidence
- Principles of Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court
- Law 101: Legal Guide for the Forensic Expert
- Laboratory Orientation and Testing of Body Fluids and Tissues
- DNA Extraction and Quantitation
- STR Data Analysis and Interpretation
- Communication Skills, Report Writing, and Courtroom Testimony
- Español for Law Enforcement
- Amplified DNA Product Separation for Forensic Analysts