RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE, the District Attorney, or designee, to apply for and accept grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for an initial amount of up to $470,000 over a three-year period beginning October 1, 2020 to prosecute cold cases using DNA.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The District Attorney's Office will receive up to $470,00 over a three-year period. No match is required. 100% federal funds.

BACKGROUND:

The U.S Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has identified funding to assist Prosecutor’s Offices and Law Enforcement Agencies in prosecuting violent crime cold cases. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office (applicant) together with Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff (subrecipient) and Pittsburg Police Department (subrecipient) is applying for the grant to fund the investigation and prosecution of violent crime cold cases, in particular, homicides where suspect DNA has been identified. Work funded through this grant will assist victims of crime and next of kin in an effort to bring closure in unsolved violent crime cold cases.