Joyful Heart in the News

Nampa, Idaho - Dozens of rape kits in southwestern Idaho have not been sent to labs for testing, but officials remain torn if anything should be done to change that.

Backlogs of rape kits sitting in labs have been a nationwide concern in recent years. But in Idaho, the issue begins even earlier. Current law states that the fate of a rape kit lies with individual enforcement agencies who determine if the case merits testing.

The Idaho Press-Tribune reports that the Nampa Police Department has collected more than a 100 rape kits since 2010, but only 12 have been sent to a lab. Meanwhile, the Canyon County Sheriff's Office collected 79 kits and sent 24 to be tested during the same timeframe.

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