More than 100,000 untested rape kits sit in evidence across the country, but Congress may be ready to approve a $41 million aid package to help address the issue. Recent discoveries of additional untested kits, including some 4,000 in Dallas, have renewed pressure from advocacy groups and returned focus to the issue. Back in 2011, the Texas Tribune reported that as many as 21,000 rape kits were backlogged in Dallas.
When New York tested its 17,000-kit backlog, the arrest rate for sexual assaults climbed to 70 percent from 40 percent. In Detroit, 127 potential serial rapists were identified when it tested 1,600 kits. And closer to home in Houston, 5,000 of a recently uncovered 6,600 kits were processed by Virginia-based Bode Technology. Let’s hope Dallas can achieve similar results.
