Since we’ve relaunched ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, news has been pouring in about the rape kit backlog across the country. Journalists are uncovering backlogs, jurisdictions are implementing reforms to track and test rape kits and citizens are taking action.

We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the latest from across the country. We also urge you to take action and get involved in our efforts to ENDTHEBACKLOG of untested rape kits. It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of them across the country, each one representing a lost opportunity for healing and justice. It’s easy to spread the word about the backlog and to contact your elected officials at the state and national levels to urge them to prioritize rape kit testing. 

Estimates of the number of untested rape kits in Memphis grow as legislation is proposed in Tennessee

Less than three months after officials in Memphis revealed it has the largest known backlog in a city in the United States, State Representative Antonio Parkinson, who represents Memphis, has introduced legislation to address the rape kit backlog at the state level.

In August 2013, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong reported approximately 6,000 untested kits in police storage facilities, and revised his estimate to over 12,000 in November. In October, Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton issued an executive order instructing the police to develop a plan for clearing the backlog as quickly as possible and to provide monthly progress reports. Joyful Heart will be traveling to Memphis next month to provide guidance to officials there for implementing comprehensive reforms that are just, compassionate and survivor-centered. Reported on Nov. 18, 2013. For the full story, click here. 

Illinois completes testing of its rape kit backlog

Back in 2010, Illinois became the first state to pass comprehensive legislation to end its rape kit backlog. The law required law enforcement to send every rape kit booked into policy custody for testing within 10 days, with testing to be completed in six months. It also required the state police to determine the size of the backlog at agencies across the state and come up with a timeline and process for ending it. The law was unfunded, but Illinois secured several grants—over $.3.3 million in total. Just last month, over three years after this landmark legislation was signed into law, Illinois ended its backlog of 4,000 untested rape kits. Reported on Dec. 23, 2013. For the full story, click here.

4,000 rape kits estimated to be sitting on police storage shelves in Las Vegas

A special investigative report found that officers at the Las Vegas PD believe there are approximately 4,000 rape kits sitting in the department's storage facilities. As is the case in many jurisdictions across the country, Police Sergeant Ray Spencer suggested that his team of officers does not send all collected kits to the state lab for DNA analysis.

In Nevada, 1 in 4 women has experienced a sexual assault, with an estimated 40 – 60 women reporting an assault to local Las Vegas hospitals per month. To date, neither Nevada nor the city of Las Vegas has a law that mandates the testing of sexual assault evidence kits. Reported on Oct. 31, 2013. For the full story, click here.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s statewide rape kit testing initiative continues to yield results

Every month, the office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine releases an update on its statewide rape kit testing initiative, which was implemented in 2011. In his directive, AG DeWine requested that all law enforcement agencies submit the untested kits at their departments to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. In January, his office reported that 5,215 previously untested rape kits from across the state have been submitted for testing. So far, testing has been completed on 2,546 of them, yielding 837 matches in CODIS, the national DNA databank. Reported on Jan. 2, 2014. For the full story, click here. 

Police in Hollywood, Florida report backlog of almost 100 untested rape kits

According to the Hollywood police, the 94 untested kits in their storage facility date back to at least 2005. So far, 24 of the kits have been identified as “top priority” kits for testing (for reasons we are not yet aware of), and arrests have already been made in some of the cases. Newly-appointed Hollywood Police Chief Frank Fernandez said, “It’s been, as I can best tell, a lack of proper procedures and maybe a systemic problem.”

“I cannot account for what happened in the past,” he said. “I can only account for my point, going forward, and I'm going to ensure that that never happens again." Reported on Jan. 16, 2014. For the full story, click here.

Backlogs discovered in Utah

In January, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that several jurisdictions in Utah have backlogs of untested rape kits. Police Chief Lee Russo of West Valley City, a suburb of Salt Lake City, discovered 124 rape kits in storage. The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, which serves communities in Salt Lake County, found that 50 – 100 rape kits from old cases had not previously been tested. And at the Utah State Crime Lab, where the need for testing has outpaced funding and personnel growth over the past several years, 97 kits await testing. The lab's turnaround time is typically 4 – 5 months, which is higher than the national average. The backlogs in Utah illustrate the multi-faceted set of reasons why backlogs occur: lack of resources at both police departments and crime labs, as well as detective discretion—detectives deciding whether or not to test rape kits based on whether they believe the case is likely to move forward, whether the identify of the perpetrator is known and whether the department, overall, prioritizes sexual assault cases. Reported on Jan. 3, 2014. For the full story, click here.

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To read full stories on our Backlog Blog, including news analyses, op-ed and commentaries, survivors’ stories and more, visit our ENDTHEBACKLOG.org Media Center. For an archive of recent news articles, click here. And we invite you to discover more about the backlog where you live. Our interactive map features everything we know about the backlog in the United States—numbers of untested rape kits, legislation and reforms and local news reports.