Lawmakers Pledge $80 Million to Eliminate Rape Kit Backlogs Nationwide

[niyad]

(and yet, in florida, they are committing $300,000 to study (not test) the backlogged rape kits, to see how many there are. this could possibly be finished by next year)


Lawmakers Pledge $80 Million to Eliminate Rape Kit Backlogs Nationwide

On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden, together with US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, announced efforts to process some 70,000 untested rape kits, committing nearly $80 million to their resolution.




During a press conference held at New York City’s medical examiner’s office, Biden and Lynch underscored the importance of clearing the national backlog, pledging $41 million of federal funds to test 13,500 kits in 20 jurisdictions. Vance, upholding a promise made last fall, will apportion $38 million in forfeiture funds and provide grants of up to $2 million to examine 56,000 rape kits in 32 agencies across the country.

Conservative estimates suggest approximately 400,000 rape kits sit untested in crime labs nationwide. At $1,000 per kit analysis, some police departments resist addressing their cities’ backlogs, citing lack of funds. The benefits of testing rape kits are undeniable. Rape kits afford prosecutors the opportunity to indict “John Doe”s, securing their DNA in a national database and effectively stopping the clock on the statute of limitations imposed on sexual assault cases. Moreover, given an estimated 90 to 95 percent of rapes are committed by serial rapists, rape kits allow law enforcement to prosecute repeat offenders before they rape again.

Efforts to eliminate the backlog have already yielded results in cities nationwide. In Detroit, for example, the analysis of 10,000 previously untested rape kits exposed 487 serial rapists in at large in several states. Los Angeles has eliminated their backlog entirely with grant assistance and now processes rape kits within three months of receipt.

“The bottom line is simple,” said Biden, who authored and spearheaded passage of the VAWA law and has long championed programs to end violence against women, “f we’re able to test these kits, more crimes could be solved and more women can live with the comfort of knowing her rapist will not return.”

http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/09/10/lawmakers-pledge-80-million-to-eliminate-rape-kit-backlogs-nationwide/

[gollygee]

1. It drives me crazy that police go after jaywalkers and people changing lanes w/out signalling

with so much zeal while rape kits sit untested. And so many!

[niyad]

2. well, the victims are primarily women, who, you know, don't really count.

[niyad]

3. interesting information:

Another reason behind the backlog is detective discretion. In the majority of jurisdictions, the decision whether to send a rape kit for testing rests solely within the discretion of the officer assigned to the case. Several factors can affect the officer’s decision, including:

Whether the department prioritizes sexual assaults. Law enforcement agencies often fail to dedicate the time and resources that other crimes receive to sexual assault cases. More than with any other crime, members of law enforcement frequently disbelieve or even blame victims of sexual assault rather than focusing on bringing the perpetrator to justice.

- See more at: http://www.endthebacklog.org/backlog/why-backlog-exists#sthash.BUE60oio.dpuf

[niyad]

4. . . . .

[Ghost in the Machine]

5. 5th REC, off to the "Greatest" you go for more exposure. I find it sickening that we have such

a backlog on such a serious offense! The women in these cases deserve better treatment, and they deserve justice. I can't even begin to know, nor will I pretend to know, just how violated a woman must feel afterwards, then have that feeling compounded by those who are supposed to help them, and those who dismiss them, don't believe them or blame the victim.

I always say that "hatred is a product that destroys the vessel in which it is contained", and that I don't "hate" anyone or anything, but I think that I can honestly say that I hate a rapist, and a pedophile, with a passion.

Peace,

Ghost

[niyad]

7. thank you so much. did you see the part where the officer in charge can determine whether or not

to even send the kit, on HIS discretion? how many "unfounded" rape allegations were "unfounded" because the officer simply didn't care?

[Ghost in the Machine]

10. Yes I saw that, and that needs to change also! EVERY allegation needs to be investigated

to the fullest extent, starting with having the rape kit tested in a timely manner.

Peace,

Ghost

[niyad]

12. you are absolutely correct. but, we are told repeatedly, that there is NO war on women!

[Logical]

6. Great news. A bunch of scumbags are about to go to prison!! nt

[niyad]

8. one does hope!

[niyad]

9. . . .

[Hortensis]

11. "Lawmakers" is the OBAMA administration. Proud to have voted for him.

[niyad]

13. . . .