WA Law Enforcement & Tribes Receive $6.9M From DOJ For Resources to Fight Fentanyl Crisis, Gun Violence, Violence Against Women

10.02.24

WA Law Enforcement & Tribes Receive $6.9M From DOJ For Resources to Fight Fentanyl Crisis, Gun Violence, Violence Against Women

Grants go to municipal police departments across the state, as well as the Quileute, Kalispel, & Colville Tribes; Money to help prosecution of sex & domestic violence crimes, speed ID of fentanyl overdoses, reduce sex crime DNA testing backlog

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that several state and municipal law enforcement agencies, tribal justice departments and programs, and medical examiner offices will receive a total of $6,915,941 from the Department of Justice to help address some of the State of Washington's most pressing public safety challenges.

"Washington state has made tremendous progress over the past decade in nearly eliminating its 30,000 rape kit backlog, but we can't let up - this funding will help police labs test more DNA samples faster," Sen. Cantwell said. "These federal resources will also help us better identify fatal drug overdoses, and provide more services to support and protect women in our cities and in tribal communities."

The money will be used to, among other things, process DNA evidence faster, prosecute violence against women and children cases, identify fatal overdoses, ease inmates' transitions upon release, and mitigate the impact of juvenile gun violence.

The grants announced by DOJ today include:

• $2,459,640 for the Washington State Patrol (WSP) in FY24 Formula DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction funding. This grant will provide additional training, supplies, equipment, and wages for the five existing casework DNA laboratories in the WSP Crime Laboratory Division. These resources will help increase the number of samples analyzed, as well as shorten the turnaround time for sample analysis.
• $1,710,078 for the Quileute Indian Tribe in FY24 Office on Violence Against Women Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program funding. This grant will help support the tribe in prosecuting domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, stalking, violence against children, violation of a protection order, and assault of a tribal officer. The project also aims to help the tribe maintain sovereignty, including when a crime is committed by a non-tribal member on tribal land.
• $863,977 for the Lummi Indian Business Council in FY24 Office on Violence Against Women Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program funding. This grant will help support the tribe in prosecuting domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, stalking, violence against children, violation of a protection order, and assault of a tribal officer. The project also aims to help the tribe maintain sovereignty, including when a crime is committed by a non-tribal member on tribal land.
• $610,000 for the Kalispel Indian Community in Office on Violence Against Women FY24 Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program funds. This grant will help the Kalispel Indian Tribe hire a full-time sexual assault advocate to provide crisis intervention, emergency services, advocacy and referrals; spread awareness for resources that support survivors of sexual assault; and manage an emergency hotline.
• $473,385 for the Washington State Patrol (WSP) in FY24 Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program formula funding. This grant will be divided up across multiple law enforcement agencies to improve post-mortem exams, reduce backlogs, and better identify fatal drug overdoses. Recipients will include:
• • $211,257 for the King County Medical Examiner to support a statewide fatal drug overdose surveillance network;
  • $67,358 for the Pierce County Medical Examiner to outsource postmortem toxicology testing to a private laboratory;
  • $33,500 to the Chelan County Coroner to purchase a mortuary cooling system and powered body lift with a scale;
  • $22,700 for the Franklin County Coroner to purchase a yearlong maintenance contract for a drug identifying system, a body lift, and roller rack;
  • $1,895 for the Lewis County Coroner to purchase a generator and battery for a mass fatality trailer and six scene lights;
  • $19,972 for the Skagit County Coroner to purchase a fingerprint scanner, two elevated autopsy carts, and a scissor lift;
  • $58,225 for the Spokane County Medical Examiner to purchase testing kits for a drug identifying system and adult body bags;
  • $8,120 for the Yakima Valley Local Crime Laboratory to help obtain accreditation for the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network Program;
  • $14,067 for the WSP Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons Unit to fund travel and registration for training and consultants to reduce the backlog;
  • $31,249 for the WSP Toxicology Laboratory to outsource evidence kits to coroners and medical examiners across the state.
• $424,623 for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in FY24 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation funding. This funding will aid the tribe in hiring a new Reentry Coordinator to monitor inmates before their release, while in transition, and the following six months. The coordinator will help with identifying housing needs, employment, education, mental health and substance abuse counseling services, and more.
• $268,588 for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) in FY24 Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program funding. This grant will help WASPC foster strategic partnerships with state and local partners across the Pacific Northwest, with the goal of reducing juvenile gun violence.
• $105,650 for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) in FY24 Project Safe Neighborhoods Formula Grant Program funds. This grant will help the Kennewick Police Department continue under the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative for the Eastern District of Washington. KPD launched their Project Safe Neighborhood project one year ago to focus on improving data-informed procedures for deploying police and reducing violent crime - the first year focused on establishing a strategic plan, and the second year will focus on data-informed efforts specific to gun violence.

For decades, Sen. Cantwell has remained a steadfast supporter of municipal and tribal law enforcement across Washington state, and has advocated for technology that helps investigators use DNA to solve crimes faster. Last year, she reintroduced a bill to reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act through 2029, which would provide state and local law enforcement agencies with resources to reduce the national backlog in analyzing DNA evidence from untested rape kits. In 2002, Sen. Cantwell cosponsored the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, which unanimously passed in the Senate. This bill included key provisions of the Debbie Smith Act and authorized $275 million over five years.

Sen. Cantwell has pushed for more resources to help combat violence against women and children -- as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives at the time, Sen. Cantwell voted to pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. She has continued to support reauthorizing and expanding this important law, such as by strengthening protections for indigenous women and children. According to the National Institute for Justice, over 1.5 million or 84% of American Indian and Alaska Native women report experiencing violence in their lifetime. To help tribal communities protect against domestic violence, Sen. Cantwell championed key provisions in the 2013 and 2022 VAWA reauthorizations, which secured a tribe's power to seek justice against non-native perpetrators of domestic violence against Native women and children.

Sen. Cantwell also drafted legislation that would help municipalities adopt a real-time mapping software that keeps track of overdoses -- helping first responders, law enforcement, and public health professionals better direct resources to places experiencing spikes. She introduced the Opioid Overdose Data Collection Enhancement Act last month.

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