Schiff Announces Over $375,000 in Funding Coming to Glendale’s Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory

This week Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) announced that the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory (VRCL), which serves Glendale, Pasadena and Burbank and the surrounding communities, was awarded $376,102 through the FY20 DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program administered by the Dept. of Justice (DOJ). This critical funding will help the lab increase capacity and more quickly process DNA evidence, including sexual assault kits.

“There is no doubt that the Verdugo Regional Crime Laboratory is making Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank and the surrounding communities safer through their speedy investigations of crimes and offenses,” said Rep. Schiff. “I was proud to obtain federal funding that helped establish the laboratory, and this additional and continued support will allow the lab to increase its ability to process and test samples, including ensuring that sexual assault kits are tested and processed quickly and efficiently. I look forward to continuing to work with local authorities to continue to secure critical finding to ensure public safety.”

In 2009, Schiff helped secure $1.5 million to build the Lab as part of the appropriations process. In 2010, Schiff secured an additional $1 million to expand and fully fund the Lab. Since securing the initial funding to help build and expand the lab, Schiff has consistently supported additional funding and grants for the program through the appropriations and grants process.

The FY 2020 DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program provides funding to States and units of local government with existing crime laboratories to increase the capacity of publicly funded forensic DNA and DNA database laboratories to process more DNA samples, thereby helping to reduce the number of forensic DNA and DNA database samples awaiting analysis and/or prevent a backlog of forensic and database DNA samples.