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OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington's decades-long backlog of untested sexual assault kits has now been ‘effectively eliminated,’ according to an audit from the Washington State Auditor's Office.
Victims of sexual assault may have a medical professional take DNA samples from them, and these ‘sexual assault kits’ are then analyzed by law enforcement to identify a suspect and demonstrably link them to the assault.
But for many years, these kits have sat collecting dust at law enforcement offices.
The State Auditor's Office conducted a follow-up audit of the Washington State Patrol, which has received millions of dollars from the state to clearing the once-massive backlog.
According to the auditor's findings, WSP has essentially cleared the entire backlog, and is now testing sexual assault kits within 45 days of getting them.
"The State Patrol has done commendable work," said State Auditor Pat McCarthy. "Everyone who submits a sexual assault kit deserves to know it will be treated with seriousness and due diligence, and through this independent review, we can confirm that is now the case in Washington."
A decade ago, that backlog numbered more than 10,000 kits across the state's law enforcement agencies that had not been submitted to WSP for testing.
The State Auditor's Office says more than $30 million has been invested since 2015 to improve WSP's testing capacity. After a lengthy hiccup during the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts were delayed between 2020–2022. In 2022, WSP had tested 74% of all kits received since 2015 — by this year, though, WSP had tested 99% of kits received since 2015.
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