To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diana Becton, District Attorney
Report Title: Bureau of Justice Assistance Federal Grant for Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE, the District Attorney, or designee, to apply for and accept grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance for an amount up to $500,000 to prosecute cold cases using DNA for the period October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The District Attorney's Office will receive up to $500,000 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), 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 the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff (subrecipient) and the 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.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The District Attorney's Office will be unable to pursue this grant funding source to prosecute cold cases using DNA.