SPOKANE – The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded a $480,000 grant to fund a rapid DNA testing program in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

The grant will help deputies identify, arrest and prosecute suspects, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington said.

The grant was awarded on July 26, she said. The funding will be used by the Forensic Unit to accelerate the speed by which investigative leads can be developed, perpetrators identified, and innocent parties cleared, she said. As a result, offenders will be more quickly apprehended. 

“This grant is an example of th...