U.S. Sexual Assault Kit Casework Backlog Will Continue To Grow U.S. Sexual Assault Kit Casework Backlog Will Continue To Grow Orchid Cellmark has contracts with all four of the above agencies and has just received the first of the Houston PD rape kit backlog Orchid Cellmark has contracts with all four of the above agencies and has just received the first of the Houston PD rape kit backlog • A Senate hearing to discuss mechanisms for the federal government to help alleviate the rape kit backlog was held in December. – During the hearing, S. 2736 (Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009), a bill to reduce the national rape kit backlog and clear the thousands of existing untested rape kits in police and crime-lab storage facilities. – Orchid Cellmark supplied written testimony at the hearing as to how private labs can contribute to eliminating the backlog – The House is now putting together a companion bill for S. 2736 • At the state level, pressure from victims groups and the recent CBS news reports on the rape kit backlog is driving significant activity to address this backlog in many states. – The Michigan State Police have identified as many as 12,000 rape kits that need to be tested and the Michigan legislature has held formal hearings to determine how to proceed – Illinois has legislation pending that requires that all rape kits be tested including those currently in storage (precise numbers are unknown) – The Birmingham (AL) police department identified 2,100 rape kits in storage – The Houston police department has identified 4,000 rape kits that need to be tested and have begun the testing process – Several other cities were identified by CBS as having a significant number of untested rape kits |