Department Initiatives—Technology
DNA Backlog Reduction The FWPD Crime Laboratory provides forensic services to both FWPD and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. In 2015, the Crime Lab pro- cessed 7,251 requests. This is a 20% increase from 2010, in which a total of 5,789 cases were processed. Due to the increased demand of requests and lim- itations within the Crime Lab, the number of backlogged cases increased from 439 to 724 in 2015. In October 2015, the Crime Lab was awarded the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant, which will help reduce the backlog. The grant is intended to assist State and local governments to in- crease the capacity of public forensic DNA laboratories to process more DNA samples, thereby helping to reduce the number of forensic DNA samples awaiting analysis. The FWPD was awarded $256,444 towards a new Vacuum Centrifugal Concentrator and Accessories, DNA Sample Management and Quality Assurance Software, workshops, and a Lean Six Sigma Study. The Lean Six Sigma Study will identify efficiencies which is inherent in the pro- duction system to create a process where sample/evidence flow through the laboratory in a proficient manner. The study will be complete in September 2016 and the Crime Lab plans to implement recommended changes into their processes.
Grant Funded Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Project Launched
On September 15, 2015, the City Council authorized the acquisition of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) system to support the Police Department’s computer labs located at the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex. This facility includes two computer labs, one dedicated to recruit training (State of Texas required T.C.O.L.E. testing) and the other to be used for computer-related training for Police employees. Virtual desktops allow for ease of software & hardware management, support, lower total cost of ownership, and much lower energy usage than those of typical desktop hardware components. Rather than having approxi- mately fifty (50) separate/individual PC's to equip the computer labs; VDI solutions have proven to help save time and money, provide greater defense against catastrophic failure, improve update speeds, such as Mi- crosoft Windows security updates; which are mandated by the FBI’s CJIS Security Policy, various Police- specific software updates, and provide an easy way to customize desktops for certain users or groups of us- ers. Additionally, this solution provides scalability, allowing for the potential expanded use in the Jail or other appropriate areas where multiple shared devices are needed. Furthermore, the system provides replication of environments, allowing Police, Fire, & Emergency Operations personnel the harness the capability of spin- ning up virtual desktops for use in a natural disaster or other critical incident in the current Emergency Oper- ations Center (EOC), or for use in a temporary EOC.
This project was grant funded ($210,000) through the U.S. Department of Justice, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Formula Program.
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