The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cash from N.Y., feds spurs DNA testing, which leads to arrests
Languishing evidence in more than 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring more than 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials said Tuesday.
Why it matters
Law enforcement and lawmakers have faced growing calls in recent years to elimi nate what’s known as the rape kit back- log — swabs and samples collected in sex assault cases but never tested for DNA. Victims’ advocates see the untested kits as signs that sexual assaults weren’t taken seriously enough.
Still, “we have begun to rectify what has been a tragic failure of government and law enforcement at all levels — a decadeslong, systematic denial of equal rights for women in the justice system,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement while releasing results of his $38 million investment in testing outside his own turf.
Nationwide effort
Vance, who took office after New York City cleared its testing backlog, and the Department of Justice have worked in tandem since 2015 to help other places tackle theirs.
The two agencies have paid to send years-old kits to labs from dozens of states and communities, ranging from Flint, Michigan, to Mobile, Alabama, to Las Vegas.
The backlog built up over decades, partly due to the cost of tests that can run $1,000 or more.
But victims’ advocates also say many sex assault cases simply got sidelined over the years by police and prosecutors whounduly disbelieved or downplayed victims’ allegations.
Meanwhile, another nearly 45,000 rape kits have been sent to labs through the Justice Department program — and it’s produced nearly 899 prosecutions and 498 convictions and plea bargains, according to data the agency provided Monday to The Associated Press.
What’s next
It’s estimated that another 155,000 or more sex assault evidence kits still await testing, and thousands of results have yet to be linked to suspects. Many who have been identified can’t be prosecuted because of legal time limits and other factors.