The backlog of rape kits is a nationwide problem, but some states are doing worse than others.
North Carolina has about 1,800 kits waiting to be tested for DNA, according to the Attorney General's Office. Virginia and Kentucky have reportedly cleared their backlogs.
The AG's Office says analyzing evidence takes about 40 days but the turnaround time for testing in North Carolina is about 15 months. Advocates say the long wait period is due to a lack of resources nationwide.
“It's really a failure of the criminal justice system to treat sexual assault as a violent crime that it is and to prioritize evidence testing from sexual assault," Ilse Knecht said.
Knecht is the policy and advocacy director for the Joyful Heart Foundation, which runs the End the Backlog initiative. She said the clock is ticking to ramp up testing because, “each one of these kits represents a potential offender who is on the streets right now, potentially harming other people."
While the process is slow, North Carolina has kickstarted its efforts since 2018, when there was a backlog of about 16,000 rape kits.
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