In large cities, like Los Angeles, rape is a common, yet atrocious, occurrence. In Santa Monica, California new victims arrive daily at the Rape Crisis Treatment Center. Rape kits are meticulously performed on each victim. Yet, only a handful of these kits are tested. A majority of these kits are sent to cold storage, where they wait for months, or even years, before they are tested. A report by the Human Rights Watch proposes that the number of untested rape kits across America is over 400,000, with which the highest numbers occurring in large urban areas, like Los Angeles and New York City. In Los Angeles the number of rape kits in cold storage falls just under 13,000. In 2007, the Denny Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program provided $43 million to state crime labs, in order to reduce the number of untested rape kits in the U.S. However, due to the improper use of the funds, 17 states had their grants by 50 percent in 2008, a loss of $500,000. New York City cleared its backlog of 16,000 tested kits in three years. Following the release of the numbers, the city of Los Angeles allocated $700,000 to fund the hiring of 16 climb lab staff members and $250,000 to pay for testing in private labs.
If people are putting such an effort into performing rape kits on victims, why is the same amount of effort not put in to testing them? It seems like such a waste to actually test victims, but then let the rape kit sit for months or even years. States need to put more effort into being prompt about testing rape kits. The more rape kits that are tested, the more criminals can be locked away, keeping the public safer. It seems crazy to me that more is not being done to catch rapists, and protect future victims.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be more prompt action when it comes to testing rape kits. I can understand it taking awhile to test all of them, especially in large cities, but months or years is ridiculous. Furthermore, if victims don't think their rape kits will be tested, than they might not be as likely to get tested or report the rapes, and more rapists will go unpunished.
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