Tennessee police departments have dramatically reduced their numbers of untested rape kits since a new state requirement took effect this year. Now a set of new written standards, finalized this week, will also govern how police take care of sexual assault survivors.
A backlog of more than 9,000 untested rape kits counted in 2014 — mostly in Memphis — prompted the new state law. It requires forensic sex assault evidence to be sent for testing within 60 days.
Along with grant money, the law has helped get more than 75 percent of the old kits tested, down to about 2,100 as of September, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Some departments had reduced or eliminated backlogs since then, according to The Tennessean.
“Hopefully, we will catch more offenders,” said Kathy Walsh, who directs the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic And Sexual Violence.
She said that even when a case doesn’t lead to an immediate arrest, it helps police to add evidence into the national DNA database known as CODIS.
“They are getting hits on that DNA that (continue reading at NPR)