Senate Panel Holds Hearing On Rape Kit Backlog

A Senate panel on Tuesday held a hearing on the backlog of untested rape kits nationwide, CBS News reports. Several witnesses at the hearing called on lawmakers to address the situation after a CBS investigation revealed 20,000 rape kits in major cities nationwide have never been tested. The investigation also found that an additional 6,000 kits were waiting months or even years to be tested in crime laboratories.

"We need to be figuring a way to get our local law enforcement up to where they need to be," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said at the hearing.

Several senators called for the bolstering of a 2005 law (P.L. 108-405) designed to reduce the backlog of untested rape kits. According to Linda Fairstein, who led the Manhattan District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit, New York's effort to test every kit has resulted in a rape arrest rate of 70%. "We need to find, identify, test and get results on every rape kit that exists in this country," she said. Witness Debbie Smith said, "Each box holds within it vital evidence that is crucial to the safety of women everywhere" (Keteyian, CBS News, 12/15).


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