A grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will allow Long Beach police to continue using DNA analysis to investigate so-called "cold cases."
The $286,402 award will fund detective hours and DNA testing for unsolved cases through Sept. 31, 2011, the last day of that fiscal year.
Retired and active detectives have identified about 300 unsolved cold cases -- many of them homicides and sex crimes -- that date to 1991, when investigators started collecting DNA samples with greater regularity.
"We want to follow cases and bring closure to families," said Long Beach Police Department Cmdr. Laura Farinella.
Budget cuts forced elimination of the LBPD's cold case unit in 2007, but it was re-established with grant money in January 2009.
The DOJ grant was secured with help from U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, and prevents the program from expiring, as expected, in June 2010.
"She was integral to getting those funds," Farinella said of Richardson, a former Long Beach councilwoman.
With the Long Beach Police Department funding shortfalls, it is unlikely that the cold-case program would have survived on its own, Farinella said.
"While state and local governments continue to face tough budget cuts, it is a relief for all the people of Long Beach that their police department is able to continue the vital work of solving cold cases, thus ensuring justice is served, criminals are off the street and closure for victims is achieved," Richardson said in a prepared statement.
Farinella said the cold-case program relies on two retired detectives who work about two days a week, one active homicide detective who contributes when not otherwise occupied by active cases, and clerical workers. Other detectives, officers contribute when they have knowledge that can help with an investigation.
In order for police agencies to qualify for the funding, the federal award required a DNA testing component to help solve the cases. The LBPD sends its samples to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Crime Lab and private labs that contract with the city.
Forty-two of the 300 identified cold cases are under review. DNA samples have been sent out for lab work in 13 of the cases.
In eight of the cold cases under review, the victims were raped or sexually assault before being murdered.
The remaining 34 cases are homicides.
The date of an unsolved crime does not necessarily make a case cold. An investigation is generally considered cold when detectives have exhausted all possible leads, the commander explained.
