The Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Lab is reducing the backlog of sexual assault cases dating back to 1978.
When sexual assault cases are reported, victims can choose to have evidence collected for future forensic testing. A medical examiner gathers this evidence, which may include swabs or photographic documentation to record the crime. All collected materials are sealed in a sexual assault evidence kit for later processing.
The specific contents of these kits vary by jurisdiction but typically include swabs, test tubes, microscopic slides, and evidence collection envelopes for hairs and fibers, according to the Arizona Assault Evidence Collection Kit Task Force.
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A backlog is created when an evidence kit has not been tested for more than 30 days from when laboratory analysis was requested.
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Funding to track kits
The backlog in Maricopa County was so high in 2016 that the U.S. Department of Justice gave the Phoenix Police Department a $1.5 million grant and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office a $1.2 million grant to test kits.
They used the funding to implement a new sexual assault kit tracking system that helped the crime lab to reduce their caseload, processing a significant number of the 800 kits, according to the Police Department.
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When Mayor Gallego and the city council gave their support for the outsourcing of testing in September of 2023, the caseload was reduced even further, according to the department.
The department says that since then, 930 kits have been tested, reducing the backlog of untested kits to 160 remaining. In the last eight years, the department has processed over 6,000 kits.
The department receives an average of about 50 new kits each month, and the expedited processing of the backlog is helping to maintain a manageable caseload.
“Solving these terrible crimes is one of our highest priorities, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to cut the sexual assault kit backlog,” Mayor Kate Gallego, who pushed for reducing the backlog since her time as a City Councilmember, said. “We’re going to eliminate the backlog once and for all—and keep it there.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DOJ grant aids Phoenix police in clearing sexual assault kit backlog
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