Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) Services

Since its founding, Intermountain Forensics has been both a pioneer and thought leader in the FIGG community.

Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG)

What is FIGG?

Genetic Genealogy combines DNA testing with traditional genealogical and historical records to determine relationships between individuals. Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy utilizes this method to identify unknown DNA for crime scene DNA and Unidentified Human Remains (UHR).

At IMF, we have a proven track record for FIGG work. We take pride in our standards and best practices all while providing an affordable and turnkey solution for agencies looking to find resolutions to their cold cases.

Benefits to Using Our FIGG Team

Experience

Our FIGG Team is a trusted name within the field and well experienced with forensic cases.

Cost

As a nonprofit, IMF is able to keep FIGG costs affordable for LE agencies. We offer a flat fee that covers case selection to investigative lead.

Best Practices

Our team has implemented best practices that go above and beyond industry standards to ensure the highest integrity of our work.

Commitment

Unlike some other agencies, we continue to actively work, monitor and make recommendations on even the toughest cases.

Turnkey

Our Team assists from start to finish. We help triage cases to select the most viable for FIGG, obtain lab quotes, and provide an investigative lead and final report.

What to Expect

Choosing Your Case(s)

Is your case the type of case that qualifies for FIGG? Have you uploaded an STR profile into CODIS with no hit? These questions (and a few more) are ones you'll need the answers to as you move forward with FIGG. Our Team can assist with this and has experience with choosing the most viable cases and moving them through the FIGG process.

The Lab Process

We work with a number of accredited labs for both STR (if needed) and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). If you would like to handle the lab quotes/process and then hand it off to us OR let us collect quotes for you and assist from start to finish, we can adjust to your requirements.

Uploading to Allowable Databases

There are currently 3 allowable databases for Law Enforcement to use for their cases: GEDmatch PRO, FTDNA and DNA Justice. We actively work in all three.

The FIGG Work

At this stage, the actual FIGG work begins. Cases have an investigative lead in days, weeks, months and in some cases it can take much longer. However, at IMF we actively work, make recommendations, and monitor every case until resolution.

Reporting

Upon confirmation of a candidate, we issue a final report with our research and findings.

FIGG-Related Costs

At IMF, we are extremely aware of the costs that keep investigators from working cold cases. Because of this, we are committed to a transparent pricing model for our FIGG work as well as helping LE stay informed of the overall costs related to doing a FIGG case. We think it's important that agencies understand not only the process, but the costs associated with that process.

For a typical FIGG case, you can expect three types of costs: lab costs, upload fees and FIGG work.

A Typical FIGG Case

Lab Costs

(Evaluation, Extraction, Sequencing/Bioinformatics)

Lab costs vary depending on the lab you choose. We always recommend using an accredited lab for forensic work.

Upload Fees

(GEDmatch PRO, FTDNA, DNA Justice - free)

Both GEDmatch PRO and FTDNA charge a fee to LE to upload to their databases. We typically recommend starting with one database to keep costs down.

FIGG Work

(Flat Fee, Phenotyping Composite, Reporting, Continual monitoring)

IMF charges a flat fee (no blocks or hourly rates) from start to investigative lead.

Want your Lab Costs & Upload Fees covered? Apply for IMF Cold Case Funding

FIGG Resources

FIGG is an emerging field and can be a bit of an unknown. In response to this, we created resources for our LE partners to help better understand the workflow, terminology and expectations while navigating the FIGG process.