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State crime labs continue to chip away at rape kit backlog

State crime labs continue to chip away at rape kit backlog
Posted at 2:35 PM, May 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-21 16:35:12-04

The head of the state crime lab says significant progress has been made in working through Idaho's backlog of rape kits, but several unsubmitted kits remain unprocessed.

The Idaho Press-Tribune reports 316 rape kits were completed last year. But 527 unsubmitted kits dating back to 1995 remain. Idaho State Police Laboratory Systems Director Matthew Gamette says he hopes all the kits can be completed by the end of next year.

A rape kit is a collection of DNA evidence gathered after a sexual assault.

The State Police, along with the FBI, are tasked with testing DNA results from rape kits submitted by local law enforcement agencies across the state.

(by Associated Press)