The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) supports forensic programs to assist state, county or municipal forensic crime laboratories, county district attorneys, medical examiners and county coroner’s improve the quality, timeliness and credibility of forensic science services to the criminal justice system. PCCD leverage funds to support these through limited Paul Coverdell National Forensic Science Improvement Act (NFSIA) funds administered by PCCD.
The Coverdell program is administered by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance and is designed to improve the quality, timeliness, and credibility of forensic science services for criminal justice purposes. In general, NFSIA provides funding to crime laboratories and medical examiners’ offices through the State Administrating Agency, like PCCD based on population and crime statistics.
The program permits funding for expenses related to facilities, personnel, computerization, equipment, supplies, accreditation, certification, education, and training. NFSIA requires that states receiving a grant under the program use the award to carry out all or a substantial part of a program to improve the quality and timeliness of forensic science or medical examiner services in the state. Included are those services provided by laboratories or medical examiners’ offices operated by the state and those operated by units of local government within the state.
The goal of this PCCD initiative is to assist agencies in the improvement of forensic science operations. In order to reach this goal, the following objectives must be met:
- Reduction in the number of days between submission of a sample to a forensic science laboratory and delivery of test results to a requesting office or agency.
- Reduction in the number of backlogged forensic cases.
- Increase in the number of forensic science or medical examiner personnel who attend appropriate training or educational opportunities.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law on July 27, 2006 on the 25th anniversary of the abduction of six year old Adam Walsh from a Florida mall. It was later discovered that Adam had been murdered but the perpetrator, who later confessed, was never charged due to lost evidence.
This federal law, named in Adam’s honor, was passed in response to several egregious cases where children were abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered by sexual predators who were previously convicted of serious sexual violence offenses but, because of their state law at the time, were not required to register or provide notification to the community about their place of residence, business or schooling. Many believe that having such information would have empowered the community with knowledge and provided it with the ability to provide enhanced protection of the endangered children and other community members at risk of victimization.
Title I of the Adam Walsh Act is also known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
**Content Last Updated 5/14/2012**
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