September 3, 2009
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

SHERIFF’S OFFICE LAUNCHES DNA CRIME-SOLVING INITIATIVE

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is launching a high-tech crime-solving initiative after getting the green light Thursday morning from the County Council. Under the initiative, the Sheriff’s Office will send forensic evidence collected by deputies at crime scenes to a private DNA lab in order to enhance efforts to identify criminal suspects. The three-year pilot program is being funded by a federal grant.

The DNA analysis will be performed by DNA Labs International out of Deerfield Beach and the results will be fed into the company’s database of profiles in search of a match. Under certain circumstances, the private lab also can have DNA profiles uploaded into the FBI’s national database. The goal of the program is to provide faster results to investigators looking to DNA evidence to help link suspects to crimes.

The program is being funded by a $387,518 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the contract approved Thursday by the County Council, the county will receive a 25 percent discount on the laboratory services by making a $100,000 advance payment to the company. When the money is used up, the fund will be replenished. The Sheriff’s Office will utilize the three-year pilot phase to evaluate the effectiveness and crime-solving abilities of the program.