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According to the two Denver agencies, the grant will keep the project going for another 18 months and will allow the agencies to add staff members, including staff to provide support to victims of re-opened cases.

“The Denver effort has been one of the most successful DNA programs in the country,” said Regina Schofield, assistant attorney general at the Office of Justice Programs. “In addition to using DNA technology to solve these cold cases, the city also has been a model for working with crime victims associated with these cases.”

The DNA Cold Case Project is an interdisciplinary effort that uses DNA technology to create new leads in previously unsolved homicides and sexual assault cases. According to the city of Denver, the project integrates all aspects of a cold case, including the work of detectives, crime lab analysts, prosecutors and victim advocates.

In 2005, the Department of Justice selected Denver as one of five sites to study the impact of DNA technology and the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database on high-volume crimes such as burglary. Since then, the city has analyzed 500 burglaries or other high-volume property crimes using DNA and has studied the impact that DNA science had on the filing of these cases.

More than $300 million awarded since DNA Initiative launched

The National Institute of Justice—the Office of Justice Programs' research, development and evaluation arm—oversees the Justice Department's cold case effort, which is part of President George W. Bush's DNA Initiative. Since the DNA Initiative was launched in 2003, the Office of Justice Programs has awarded more than $300 million to state and local government agencies across the country.

The goal of the five-year, $1 billion dollar initiative is to ensure that DNA technology is used to its fullest potential to solve crimes, protect the innocent and identify missing persons.