Cornyn's legislation increased the dollar amount spent on untested rape kits by 35 percent January 8, 2018 President Donald Trump signed a bill proposed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act -- which reauthorizes, strengthens, and extends the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting program to he...

The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D.C. has no rape kit backlog, officials say. January 2, 2018 WASHINGTON — Three years after D.C.'s DNA lab lost its accreditation, the city is touting a total turnaround. The Department of Forensic Science is back up to speed and unlike other cities its size, D...

Across the country, there are shelves full of untested rape kits, denying victims justice," said Rep. Poe. "In 2015, the DOJ estimated there were as many as 400,000 untested rape kits in the United States. October 24, 2016 U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Ted Poe (TX-02) released the following statements after their bipartisa...

Teams are typically made up of a team leader, photographer, sketcher, evidence custodian, evidence collectors or searchers and specialists. Specialists have epxertise in hazardous materials, structural engineering, anthropology, botany, entomology and more. October 4, 2017 While it's not as glamorous a job as the TV show "CSI" makes it seem, invest...

Drug Enforcement Agency agent carried on an extra-marital affair with a convicted criminal, shared evidence with her, and may have left her unattended in the drug evidence room, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General published Thursday. September 7, 2017 Drug Enforcement Agency agent carried on an extra-marital affair with a...

A change would likely represent another reversal by Attorney General Sessions of Obama-era Justice Department policies July 17, 2017 The Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. Sessions said a shift will be...

Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precautions in their contacts with addicts and dealers suspected of carrying the quick acting, deadly drug fentanyl. June 6, 2017 WASHINGTON – Federal officials issued an urgent warning Tuesday to local police across the country to take added precaut...

An explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon inside a drug vault at a D.C. police warehouse in Southwest Washington where evidence is stored, according to police and fire officials. January 25, 2017 An explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon inside a drug vault at a D.C. police warehouse in Southwest Washington where evidence is stored, according to po...

Rape kits—more than 100,000 of them, as of 2014—have often languished for years in police warehouses and crime labs, going untested due to a lack of funds and, some argue, contempt for victims. October 7, 2016 President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that guarantees s...

The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signedby President Obama. This is the first federal rights bill specifically provided for sexual assault survivors. September 30, 2016 The "Survivors' Bill of Rights Act" unanimously passed Congress on Wednesday and is on its way to be signed by Pre...

The downside is that this bill will only apply to sexual assault cases tried in federal court, and to crimes committed in national parks, tribal lands, or on federal property. September 9, 2016 On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a game-changing bill that could majorly impact the way sexual assault survivors are treated within the ...

A former FBI agent in the Washington Field Office pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing heroin that had been collected as evidence, and in his first public comments, he apologized and warned against the scourge of drug addiction March 31, 2016 A former FBI agent in the Washington Field Office pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing heroin th...

Great Job DC! June 02, 2016 WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Twenty-three years after MPD officers discovered the body of Charlene Johnson in a Northwest, D.C. stairwell, a suspect in her brutal murder is finally behind bars. Officers and federal agents from a joint fugitive apprehension task force arrested 48-year old Therion Clyde Bryant in Baltimore on Wed...

9 NEWS NOW, wusa9.comBYLINE: Meta PettusLink to ArticleWashington, DCWASHINGTON (AP) -- The District of Columbia police department is opening a new $20 million evidence warehouse that officials say will make it easier to stor...