Seattle Police Department on Thursday announced plans to test a backlog of more than 1,200 so-called rape kits, one week after lawmakers heard a bill that require law enforcement agencies to submit evidence for testing within 30 days.
When a sexual assault is reported, the victim undergoes a forensic examination to collect evidence, including blood, saliva and semen. Evidence is preserved in a so-called rape-kit, sent to Washington State Patrol crime lab, examined and entered into a DNA database.
Seattle Police have tested only 365 of the 1,641 kits collected in the past decade. Testing can cost as much as $1,500 per kit. “We will test all sexual assault kits moving forward and begin addressing untested kits,” Deanna Nollette, supervisor of SPD’s Special Victims Unit, wrote in a statement.
House Bill 1068 would require law enforcement to send DNA evidence for analysis within 30 days and create a work group to study a backlog of more than 5,000 untested rape kits. Senate Bill 5225 is a companion measure.
Rep. Tina Orwall is the prime sponsor. On average, the Des Moines Democrat told a House committee Jan. 14, a rapist commits 11 sexual assaults before he or she is charged. About 40 percent of rapes are reported, she said, and 12 percent of those lead to an arrest.
Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network says even more rapes are kept quiet — only 32 percent are reported, according to the group, and 2 percent of rapists are arrested.
The bill will move to executive session in the House Public Safety Committee at 10 a.m. Friday.