Florida data shows 10,900 rape kits still untested
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says nearly 11,000 rape kits have not been submitted for analysis.
In a spreadsheet released on its website Tuesday, the FDLE tallied 10,900 kits that have not been tested. The data came from 262 law enforcement agencies around the state. Seven law enforcement agencies did not report data.
The agency says the data is preliminary and agencies might update the information.
The figures mirror those nationwide as agencies across the U.S. struggle to process backlogs of sexual assault kits.
In 2009, a five month CBS News Investigation found a staggering number of rape kits had never been sent to crime labs for testing. At the time, the Jacksonville Sheriff's office said they didn't know how many tested or untested kits they had in storage.
The five month investigation looked at 24 cities and states and found more than 6,000 rape kits from active investigations waiting months, even years to be tested. On average at that time in 2009, it was six months in Rhode Island, Alabama and Illinois. It could take nearly a year in Missouri. Up to three years in Anchorage, Alaska. One state, Louisiana, had rape kits dating as far back as 2001 waiting to be tested.
"It's absolutely astounding," said Sarah Tofte, Research Director at Human Rights Watch at the time. "What's the point of sending a rape kit to a crime lab for testing if you can't get to it for say, eight years?"
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting a more than $300,000 study on the number of untested kits and will present the findings to the Legislature in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has called for more funding in the next state budget to process the kits.