Justice Grant Helps D.A. and Police Learn Effective Tools and Techniques
An eighteen month project support by the National Institute of Justice is reaping rewards for the Denver Police and Denver District Attorney. The City and County of Denver received a grant from the National Institute of Justice for a
DNA Burglary Project along with four other cities. Now, with the effort underway for just over a year, the Denver Project will be held out by the National Institute of Justice as a
national model for the use of DNA in property crimes. Denver has focused the grant funding on volume crimes such as burglary, auto-theft, and theft from motor vehicle cases from the inception.
At a recent meeting of the cities involved in this study (Topeka KS, Los Angeles, CA, Orange County, CA, and Phoenix, AZ), Denver had the most hits on the CODIS (DNA database), cases filed with the DA’s office, and the number of cases prosecuted.
In addition, Denver was deemed the
most successful in officer education.
- Identified over 40 prolific burglars since the project started November 1, 2005.
- A prolific burglar commits an average of 243 cases per year.
- Burglary cases where DNA is recovered, the prosecution rate is 5 times higher than cases without DNA.
- Average sentence for burglars linked to DNA is over 12 years in prison (compared to 6 months without DNA evidence).
- A recent case after police arrested one man - who later admitted to over 1000 burglaries - the burglary rate in the West Washington Park neighborhood dropped about 40%.
This project’s success is due to the cooperation and tireless work of the Denver Police Department’s Crime Laboratory Crime Scene Investigators and Forensic Scientists, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, the Denver Police Department District Detectives, and all Denver Police Department Patrol Officers who were trained and participated in the project. The funding for the project ends in September and City officials are seeking ways of continuing this outstanding program.