Pennsylvania is making more than $2.5 million in state funding available to help local police departments reopen cold cases, hire investigators and invest in technology to solve violent crimes.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis joined lawmakers in Philadelphia on Tuesday to announce the new Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Program. Victims’ advocates said the funding could bring renewed hope to families still waiting for justice in unsolved homicide cases.
The grant program allows local law enforcement agencies to apply for funding to hire detectives or investigators and upgrade technology used to analyze evidence, including rapid DNA testing.
“Phone technology — whatever that means — there’s always something else coming along, so to be able to have some of the funding to keep what you have, keep your base and build upon it is key,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.
The funding was included in Pennsylvania’s $50.8 billion budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The budget also includes $50 million for community anti-violence organizations and increased funding for victim services, including $4.5 million for the Victims Compensation Assistance Program, which supports victims and survivors of crime.
“It’s sending a very clear message: victims and survivors, you are visible. You are not forgotten,” Natasha Danielá de Lima McGlynn, executive director of the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, said. “So I think that’s what, when you look at how the money is being distributed, that’s what I see.”
For Yullio Robbins, whose son James Walke was killed in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood in 2016, the announcement offers hope after nearly a decade of waiting for answers.
“10 long years I’ve been on this journey seeking justice, closure at least, and I’ve done everything. I’ve walked. I’ve marched. I’ve spoke,” Robbins said.
She said she hopes the new program helps other families affected by unsolved homicides.
“I hope this program will help so many other families besides myself that have unsolved murders. Just give us some type of closure. We’ll never have justice because we don’t have them, but we will have justice in our hearts,” Robbins said.
Lawmakers also announced an additional $1 million contribution from Arnold Ventures to help police track crime.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
