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| $79m pledged to eliminate persistent rape kit backlog | |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| Vice-President Joe Biden on Thursday joined the top US prosecutor and the Manhattan district attorney to announce a $79m initiative to end a backlog of untested sexual assault DNA kits. | Vice-President Joe Biden on Thursday joined the top US prosecutor and the Manhattan district attorney to announce a $79m initiative to end a backlog of untested sexual assault DNA kits. |
| The initiative is funded by a $41m congressional allocation to the Justice Department and through $38m in civil forfeitures seized by the office of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance. | The initiative is funded by a $41m congressional allocation to the Justice Department and through $38m in civil forfeitures seized by the office of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance. |
| The joint effort promises to test more than 56,000 backlogged “rape kits” in 32 jurisdictions in 20 states, over two years. Grants to local agencies to carry out such tests will range from $97,000 to nearly $2m. | The joint effort promises to test more than 56,000 backlogged “rape kits” in 32 jurisdictions in 20 states, over two years. Grants to local agencies to carry out such tests will range from $97,000 to nearly $2m. |
| “Its cumulative – more women are going to come forward,” said Biden, who said his “hope” was that such efforts would increase the number of women who felt comfortable reporting sex crimes to police. | “Its cumulative – more women are going to come forward,” said Biden, who said his “hope” was that such efforts would increase the number of women who felt comfortable reporting sex crimes to police. |
| “We’re not forgetting anyone,” Biden said about victims of such crimes. “We are prepared to have their back and stand with them as jurisdiction after jurisdiction is beginning to see the light.” | “We’re not forgetting anyone,” Biden said about victims of such crimes. “We are prepared to have their back and stand with them as jurisdiction after jurisdiction is beginning to see the light.” |
| The attorney general, Loretta Lynch, announced that the Justice Department will examine causes of the backlog, with eight sites as pilots locations. | The attorney general, Loretta Lynch, announced that the Justice Department will examine causes of the backlog, with eight sites as pilots locations. |
| So-called “rape kits” have piled up in police storage lockers across the country for more than a decade, confounding political efforts to solve the problem. | So-called “rape kits” have piled up in police storage lockers across the country for more than a decade, confounding political efforts to solve the problem. |
| Congress has already allocated $151m annually, through 2019, to test rape kits. That was done with the Debbie Smith Act, a law passed in 2004 and reauthorized in 2014. The act is named after a Virginia woman who waited six years for her kit to be tested, only to discover her attacker was already in prison. | Congress has already allocated $151m annually, through 2019, to test rape kits. That was done with the Debbie Smith Act, a law passed in 2004 and reauthorized in 2014. The act is named after a Virginia woman who waited six years for her kit to be tested, only to discover her attacker was already in prison. |
| Even with that cash the problem has seemed intractable. Much of the Debbie Smith money, a 2013 Government Accountability Office report found, was used to increase the capacity of laboratories to test DNA – not necessarily to clear backlogs of sexual assault kits. | Even with that cash the problem has seemed intractable. Much of the Debbie Smith money, a 2013 Government Accountability Office report found, was used to increase the capacity of laboratories to test DNA – not necessarily to clear backlogs of sexual assault kits. |
| Smith herself has criticized how the money was spent, telling USA Today in July: “The administrators of the grant have not done what they were supposed to do. | Smith herself has criticized how the money was spent, telling USA Today in July: “The administrators of the grant have not done what they were supposed to do. |
| “They closed some of the loopholes, but the administrators of the grant continue to find more and more loopholes.” | “They closed some of the loopholes, but the administrators of the grant continue to find more and more loopholes.” |
| Among tests submitted to laboratories – many never make it that far –capacity continues to be a problem, as police increasingly turn to DNA evidence to solve non-violent offenses like burglary and other property crimes. According to a 2010 National Institutes of Justice study, such crimes are much more numerous than sexual assaults. | Among tests submitted to laboratories – many never make it that far –capacity continues to be a problem, as police increasingly turn to DNA evidence to solve non-violent offenses like burglary and other property crimes. According to a 2010 National Institutes of Justice study, such crimes are much more numerous than sexual assaults. |
| Even counting the kits held by America’s 18,000 local police departments has proved difficult. There is no federal requirement to do so; many have only been counted after official requests by the media. A recent investigation by USA Today found a backlog of 70,000 kits across just 1,000 police departments. | Even counting the kits held by America’s 18,000 local police departments has proved difficult. There is no federal requirement to do so; many have only been counted after official requests by the media. A recent investigation by USA Today found a backlog of 70,000 kits across just 1,000 police departments. |
| In other cases, poor storage practices have led prosecutors to discover unsubmitted kits in evidence lockers. A prosecutor in Detroit, for example, discovered 11,000 untested rape kits. | In other cases, poor storage practices have led prosecutors to discover unsubmitted kits in evidence lockers. A prosecutor in Detroit, for example, discovered 11,000 untested rape kits. |
| “To me, the backlog is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we regard these crimes in this country,” said the actor Mariska Hargitay, who attended Thursday’s announcement in New York. | “To me, the backlog is one of the clearest and most shocking demonstrations of how we regard these crimes in this country,” said the actor Mariska Hargitay, who attended Thursday’s announcement in New York. |
| Hargitay plays a sex crimes investigator on television, in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. The Joyful Heart Foundation, which she founded, focuses on clearing the rape kit backlog. | Hargitay plays a sex crimes investigator on television, in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. The Joyful Heart Foundation, which she founded, focuses on clearing the rape kit backlog. |
| “Testing rape kits sends a crucial and fundamental message that what happened to you matters, your case matters,” she said. | “Testing rape kits sends a crucial and fundamental message that what happened to you matters, your case matters,” she said. |
| Lynch said eliminating the backlog was one of the Justice Department’s “top priorities”. | Lynch said eliminating the backlog was one of the Justice Department’s “top priorities”. |
| “For anyone who has felt isolated and afraid, for anyone who has lost faith and lost hope as a result of a sex crime, this is our pledge to you,” she said. “We will not forget you.” | “For anyone who has felt isolated and afraid, for anyone who has lost faith and lost hope as a result of a sex crime, this is our pledge to you,” she said. “We will not forget you.” |