FORT MYERS — The Lee County Sheriff's Office has the go-ahead to apply for a federal grant that will, if awarded, provide money for using DNA to solve cold cases.
The Lee County Commission, without discussion, gave its stamp of approval at Tuesday's board meeting.
The National Institute of Justice, the research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, awards grants to help local agencies tackle their unsolved crimes using DNA technology.
This grant, about $262,000, would be used to cover overtime pay, travel, training and the use of a private DNA analysis laboratory.
The Sheriff's Office, in 2010, had 82 violent crime that had grown cold.
With the help of the DNA cold case grant received last year, the office expects that all but 22 will have been reviewed by the end of the grant period in March 2012.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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