BCA clears backlog of untested sexual assault kits
(FOX 9) - The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced it has now cleared the testing backlog of sexual assault kits that had piled up over the years.
That number first topped 3,400 untested kits during a statewide inventory taken back in 2015. The BCA is now reporting its scientists are all caught up after completing testing on a total of 2,366 that were ultimately submitted.
According to the bureau’s data, in those cases, kits matched someone in the convicted offender DNA database 357 times. Approximately 130 of those hits involved a suspect not previously identified in that specific investigation.
The BCA did not have any information about the number of charges this testing yielded.
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Currently, the BCA reports turnaround time for DNA testing on a submitted rape kit is nearly five-and-half months,162 days. The goal is to get that down to 90 days sometime this fall.
"Sexual assaults have been and continue to be a priority for the BCA," said Superintendent Drew Evans. "The turnaround time has been unacceptable, and we've put a number of process improvements in place to make sure that we do that, including adding additional staffing and personnel."
In addition to increased staffing, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans pointed to millions of dollars in new funding from the Capitol to help speed up forensic testing across the board. Additionally, the bureau is now using an enhanced sexual assault kit tracking program, keeping victim-survivors updated in real time as their case works its way through the system.