September 21, 2007
Contact: Robin Winchell (202) 225-4031
WASHINGTON
D.C. - U.S.
Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) announced today that the U.S. Department
of Justice (DOJ) will award a grant of $944,766 to the Louisiana State Police
to improve their crime labs and reduce the backlog of forensic DNA casework
samples waiting to be analyzed. The grant is awarded through a Justice
Department program aimed at combating crime by helping states and local
government criminal justice systems use the full potential of DNA technology.
"Funding like today's grant to the State Police will help
Louisiana's
law enforcement officers solve crimes and upgrade their technology and
facilities," said Rep. Melancon. "Louisiana has faced many hardships since
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, most disturbing of which is the increase in
violent crime. This is hindering our recovery and worsening already
existing problems, and I will continue to support more federal funding to help Louisiana's sheriffs and
police officers make our communities safer places to live."
The Louisiana State Police will use this federal grant to
improve DNA laboratory infrastructure and increase analysis capacity so DNA
samples can be processed more efficiently and cost effectively. The grant
will also be used to analyze existing backlogged forensic DNA casework samples
from violent crime scenes. Improvements are vital to decreasing the crime rate
in Louisiana,
which has risen since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state now ranks 10th
in the nation in violent crime.
In Congress, Rep. Melancon has been an advocate for crime
prevention and additional funding to support law enforcement in Louisiana. Earlier
this year, Rep. Melancon fought to add $50 million in crime prevention and
control grants to the 2007 Emergency Supplemental Bill, which was passed last
May. The grants added to this bill are part of the Edward Byrne
Memorial State
and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, which aims to help local law
enforcement reduce violent crime, combat drug activity, and provide training
for law enforcement. In Louisiana,
these discretionary grants were targeted to communities that had an increase in
violent crime following the 2005 hurricanes.
Rep. Melancon has also strongly supported federal funding to
help state and local governments combat drug abuse, protect citizens from
crime, provide assistance to victims, and help bring communities together
through community-oriented policing. In July, Rep. Melancon voted in
support of $3.2 billion to support state and local law enforcement and fund
crime prevention grants, such as the grant announced today for Louisiana's DNA crime
labs, for fiscal year 2008. This appropriations legislation (H.R. 3093),
which passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, provided $1.7
billion more to fight crime than the President requested, and $334 million than
had been appropriated for these priorities the previous fiscal year.
Among other important priorities, the legislation would help
local law enforcement deal with the increasing problem of illegal
immigration. The bill provides $405 million for the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program (SCAAP), which assists state and local governments with the
costs of jailing undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. The
President's budget proposed eliminating funding for this program.
The legislation also provides $725 million for Community
Oriented Policing Services (COPS), including $100 million for the "COPS on the
Beat" hiring program. It is estimated that 2,800 new police officer's
could be put on America's
streets with these funds. Also includes is $175 million for expanding DNA
analysis and forensic crime lab capacity and $85 million for beefing up
enforcement in "meth hot spots" - places where methamphetamine production and
use is a serious problem.
The bill provides $430 million for the federal Office on
Violence Against Women, which works to reduce violence against women and
strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault and stalking.
Rep. Melancon also supported the legislation because it
provided $1.3 billion - $765 million above the President's request - for
federal grants to state and local law enforcement organizations, such as the
grant awarded today for Louisiana's
DNA crime labs.
From 2001 to 2006, Justice Department grants funding state
and local law enforcement and crime prevention were cut by $1.9 billion.
Last year, the FBI reported that violent crime increased in 2005 and 2006 for
the first time in years.
"Louisiana's law enforcement needs more support from the
federal government in fighting crime, not less, which is why I strongly
supported increased federal funding for the Justice Department," said Rep.
Melancon. "From helping local law enforcement officers deal with
illegal immigration, to putting more police officers on our streets, to funding
grants like the one announced today for the Louisiana State Police, this bill
will improve the partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement
officials in fighting crime and making our communities safer."
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