Washington, DC - Today, Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, announced that the the Weld County Sheriff's Office is on track to receive $300,000 in federal funding to build a full-service crime lab serving Northern Colorado.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the funding as part of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2010 at Bennet's request.

"The people of Northern Colorado have gone without a full-service crime lab for too long," said Bennet. "Law enforcement officials need the tools to investigate crimes in a timely manner. This funding will go a long way in cutting the backlog of evidence and help keep Northern Coloradans safe."

With a population of nearly one million, Northern Colorado is the largest population base without a full service crime lab. Currently, there is a tremendous back log of forensic evidence yet to be analyzed at the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) Crime Lab in Denver.

Building a full service lab in Northern Colorado will benefit the entire state by helping to alleviate the backlog of evidence at CBI. It will give law enforcement officials the ability to process and analyze DNA evidence left at property crime scenes, and will allow the agencies involved to pool their resources in other forensic disciplines to better serve all jurisdictions throughout the area. The lab would allow for DNA analysis, drug analysis, fingerprint analysis, analysis of digital evidence, and firearms trace evidence analysis.

The Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, which includes the funding, now awaits consideration by the full Senate.