The Alameda County (California) Sheriff''s Office Collaborating with the National Institute of Justice to Perform Necessary Investigative Research to Identify Cold Cases That Can Be Solved with DNA.

Funds from this grant would be used for staffing the cold case unit with another experienced full time investigator to assist solely with the review and organization of cold cases, locating evidence that has the potential to be analyzed for DNA, and post hit investigation necessary for obtaining confirmatory DNA samples. A single cold case investigation can consume days, months, and years. Grant funding will allow our staff to specifically focus on the review and investigation of our unresolved cold case files. With grant funding, cases will be reviewed and prioritized based on solvability factors, including evidence availability and condition, potential for DNA analysis, legality issues (i.e. statute of limitations), and the availability of witnesses. ca/ncf