Performance Reporting at BJA
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is required to set clear program goals and collect performance measures data to demonstrate achievement of those goals. All recipients of BJA funding are required to collect and report performance data that demonstrate the results of funded activities.
For more information regarding BJA's Performance Measures, including Performance Management and Reporting, visit BJA’s Performance Measures webpage.
Coverdell Performance Reporting
Access a complete list of the performance measures collected for the Coverdell Program.
Additional performance measures are required to be submitted if the grantee has the capability to test, process, and conclusively identify the presence of a controlled substance in evidence tested.
Submit a Success Story
BJA is excited to share some of the success of the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program grantees.
Use the Submit a Success Story form to provide information about how BJA funding through this program (or others) has impacted your agency, organization, or community.
Clark County, NV
The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (CCOCME) digitized 289 unidentified decedent case files—including 129 cases from before 2000—and more than 2,000 historical slides and photographic images dating from 1969 to 2004. These materials were converted into secure, searchable digital records that support modern forensic review and long-term preservation.
The project also contributed to the launch of Missing in Nevada Day, where newly digitized images helped identify two decedents and facilitated the collection of more than a dozen DNA samples for future identification efforts. By preserving decades of historical forensic documentation and transforming them into accessible digital records, this project strengthened CCOCME’s investigative capacity, improved long-term evidence preservation, and enhanced the office’s ability to support identification efforts for unidentified individuals and missing persons cases.
City of Cape Coral, FL
The Alternative Light Source (ALS), Digital Crime lite System 5 (DCS5), and Unwrapper imaging tools significantly enhanced the Forensics Unit’s ability to detect, photograph, and document evidence on challenging surfaces. The ALS introduced ultraviolet and infrared capabilities not previously available, while the DCS5 provided a major upgrade in forensic imaging quality. The Unwrapper enabled high resolution photography of latent prints on small cylindrical items—such as cartridge casings, silencers, and glass pipes—a capability the Forensics Unit did not have before.
The ALS equipment and DCS5 systems (used in all overdose cases, homicides, and sexual assaults) were pivotal in multiple sexual assault cases, overdose cases, a stabbing case, and a homicide case. In one particular aggravated assault case where a convicted felon fired his gun at his girlfriend in front of her three-year-old, latent prints were developed on a silencer, and comparison quality images for friction ridge comparison were obtained, leading to higher weapons charges.
New Hampshire Department of Justice, NH
Coverdell enabled the New Hampshire Department of Justice laboratories to produce definitive forensic evidence against individuals distributing fentanyl and heroin, potentially accelerating the convictions.
Colorado Department of Public Safety, CO
The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) Metro Crime Laboratory’s (MCL) new Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) 3 D scanner was used by CSPD Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) to diagram and document scenes on 26 occasions. Compared with the outdated FARO 3 D scanner previously used by the MCL, the new LIDAR system saved CSIs approximately 43.28 hours of processing time. This time savings—more than one full workweek during the reporting period—allowed CSIs to devote additional hours to other investigative activities, thereby increasing the MCL’s overall forensic capacity and improving the timeliness of its forensic services.