The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced that more than $17 million in Fiscal Year 2010 funding was awarded to seven Department of Justice Technology Centers of Excellence (COE). The Centers of Excellence serve as the nation's authoritative resource for law enforcement and corrections officers and practitioners.

"The Centers of Excellence are the lynchpin in our efforts to ensure law enforcement and corrections agencies, crime laboratories and agencies involved in the judicial process get the tools and technologies they need to do their jobs more effectively," explained OJP Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson. "They work with criminal justice practitioners to identify their needs for safer, more effective equipment and assist our National Institute of Justice in its efforts to meet those needs."

The COEs were established in 2007 and serve within the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center System (NLECTC). The primary role of the Centers is to assist in research, development, and the transition of technology from the laboratory into practice by law enforcement and corrections agencies, courts, and crime laboratories. The NLECTC System supports the mission of the DOJ's National Institute of Justice assisting state, local, tribal and federal law enforcement, corrections and other criminal justice agencies in addressing their technology needs and challenges.

More information on the 2010 Centers of Excellence awards is available at the DOJ Website .

2010 USDOJ Technology Centers of Excellence Center of Excellence

Colorado Seminary/ University of Denver: Corrections Technology, $1 million

Electronic Crime Preventions & Investigations (Milford, N.J.): Electronic Crime Technology, $1.9 million

L-3 Services (Arlington, Va.): Communications Technology, $1.9 million

ManTech Advanced Systems International (Fairmont, W.V.): Sensor, Surveillance & Biometrics, $2 million

National Forensic Science Technology Center (Largo, Fla.): Forensic Technology, $6.19 million

Pennsylvania State University (State College, Pa.): Weapons and Protective Systems, $2.75 million

Rand Corporation (Santa Monica, Calif.): Information and Geospatial Technologies, $1.99 million