The federal government is awarding the Oakland Police Department more than $400,000 to help deal with a backlog of cases awaiting forensic analysis.

Even so, that will barely put a dent in the more than 2,000 cases needing attention. Jennifer Inez Ward of KQED News Associate Oakland Local says the backlog has a big impact on the city.
 
"If you have your house broken into, if you have your car broken into, if you get mugged or if one of your family members get killed, you want to be able to rely on the police department to process forensic evidence in a timely manner," Ward said. "And if the turnaround is hundreds of days, if at all, what does that say about the public safety in the city?"

Oakland's city council is scheduled to take up the backlog in forensic analysis tomorrow.