State Working on Clearing Rape Kit Backlog

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Attorney General’s office has begun to send for analysis some of the state’s backlog of untested rape kits.

KCUR reports that the state completed a full inventory of the untested kits last fall and now has sent about 100 of the roughly 7,000 kits to an out-of-state private forensic lab for testing.

A $2.8 million grant from the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance will help test about 1,250 of the kits.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office will seek more funding to clear the entire backlog.

It takes roughly 90 days to test a rape kit.