Denver DNA Cold Case Project
The Denver Police Department is reviewing hundreds of unsolved criminal cases looking for cases containing DNA evidence that could be re-examined with new technology.
Criminals who thought they had gotten away with their crime may find that technology and persistence are catching up with them. And victims who thought their attacker might never be caught have new hope.
The Denver Police Department is reviewing hundreds of unsolved criminal cases looking for cases containing DNA evidence that could be re-examined with new technology.
Criminals who thought they had gotten away with their crime may find that technology and persistence are catching up with them. And victims who thought their attacker might never be caught have new hope.
History and Funding
In 1999 the Denver Police Department DNA laboratory validated and started using the most modern short tandem repeat (STR)-DNA analysis on criminal cases. Since then, the laboratory has met national quality assurance standards (QAS) and is actively participating in the national DNA databank called the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In 2002 AND 2004, the Denver Police Department Crime Lab applied for and received $893,976 in grant funds to identify and analyze DNA samples. The grant request proposed using the very latest DNA technology to re-examine an estimated 700 unsolved criminal cases (200 sexual assault cases and 500 homicide cases in which there is DNA evidence).
The majority of cases being submitted to the laboratory as part of the Denver DNA Cold Case project involve crimes that occurred prior to the adaptation of this new technology by the DNA lab.
Content on this page comes from the DenverDA Web site. On that site you also can find collections of:
