WUNRN
USA - MOST RAPE KITS NEVER TESTED IN
STATE OF ILLINOIS - NEW LAW
A New Law Promises to Reduce Sexual
Assault Backlog, but Funding Remains Concern.
Full Article: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/07/us-most-rape-kits-never-tested-illinois?tr=y&auid=6603236 -
July 7, 2010
"Illinois’s failure to test DNA evidence is not only an insult to rape victims – it puts all women at risk by leaving rapists who could be identified at large, some of whom may attack again. The data suggests that Illinois law enforcement just doesn’t see rape as a serious crime that’s worthy of time and resources."
Sarah Tofte, US Researcher at Human Rights Watch and author
of the report
(Chicago) - The vast majority of DNA evidence collected from rape victims in Illinois cannot be confirmed as tested, Human Rights Watch said in a new report and based on data collected across the state.
A new law signed by Governor Pat Quinn this week makes Illinois the first state to require law enforcement officials to track and send this evidence to labs for DNA testing and could make Illinois a nationwide model, but the lack of funding for testing remains a source of concern. _______________________________________________________________
USA - STATE OF ILLINOIS - RAPE KITS
NOT SUBMITTED BY POLICE FOR TESTING
Human Rights Watch Report
July 7, 2010
This 42-page report collected comprehensive testing data from 127 of 264 jurisdictions in Illinois and found that only 1,474 of 7,494 sets of physical evidence, known as "rape kits," booked into evidence since 1995 could be confirmed as tested. That suggests 80 percent of rape kits may never have been examined in the state.
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