(WTXL) — After a three year project, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says that it has processed more than 8,000 rape kits, eliminating the state's backlog.
In total, 8,023 sexual assault kits were processed resulting in 1,814 CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) hits. CODIS enables federal, state and local agencies to compare DNA profiles electronically, linking crimes to each other and known offenders.
“This is an extraordinary accomplishment and I am grateful to FDLE and all our law enforcement partners who worked diligently to eliminate the backlog of previously untested sexual assault kits,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “Not only was the backlog eliminated, procedures were adopted and advances made in an effort to prevent future backlogs.”
A 2016 assessment found that there were thousands of rape kits left untested in a backlog.
While FDLE did process some kits in house, the majority were sent to private labs for processing. Once the private labs returned the results, FDLE scientists completed reviews on the data and reports and uploaded eligible DNA profiles into CODIS.
Now that the backlog has been cleared, FDLE is urging our law enforcement partners to submit older sexual assault kits if they identify more that should be submitted.
A list of agencies who submitted sexual assault kits as part of this project and the DNA hits associated with this evidence is below:
FDLE completes 3-year sexua... by Elyse Bell on Scribd
