OLYMPIA — The way rape kits are handled could change as part of a proposal by Washington lawmakers to eliminate a growing backlog of untested kits by December 2021.
The state has invested millions of dollars to reduce the backlog, which reached about 10,000 in 2015, and lawmakers have discussed legislation addressing how to better collect, store and track forensic evidence.
The bill would define sexual assault kits to include all evidence collected during a sexual assault exam, require the preservation of investigation records related to the kit, and require local law enforcement to hold on to unreported kits for 20 years, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday.
In December 2019, there were about 9,800 backlogged kits, the Times reported.
“We wanna do more than test,” bill sponsor and Democratic Rep. Tina Orwall said. “If we truly want justice and want to take dangerous people off the streets, we need to investigate and really potentially prosecute and find justice.”
Currently, rape kits cannot be destroyed, but investigatory reports and notes associated with those kits can be destroyed.
The bill “would provide consistency so that no matter where someone is assaulted, they know exactly where their kit will be held, and for exactly how long, which provides security to them,” said Katharine Hemann, a Washington assistant attorney general.
The bill passed its third reading in the Senate on Wednesday.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs raised concerns over holding material that is not yet part of a police report, something the bill would require police to do. The group also argued that rape kits not associated with a reported crime are not considered evidence.
“They should be stored, they should be secured,” said James McMahon, association policy director. “But getting into the practice of having law enforcement agencies store materials that are not yet evidence, that’s a precedent that we’re not comfortable setting.”
Others raised concerns about whether law enforcement will have enough space for the kits.
