Tests of rape kit backlogs nets 1000s of arrests скачать в хорошем качестве

Tests of rape kit backlogs nets 1000s of arrests

(12 Mar 2019) Languishing evidence in over 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials said Tuesday. It's estimated that another 155,000 or more sex assault evidence kits still await testing, and thousands of results have yet to be linked to suspects. Many who have been identified can't be prosecuted because of legal time limits and other factors. "What happened with the failure to test backlogged rape kits around the country was an absolute travesty of justice," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said while releasing results of his $38 million investment in testing outside his own turf. "It was a travesty of justice that was focused principally on women survivors as the victims of two offenses. One the sexual assault and then second to have their case ignored by the very people who they turned to to help find the attacker." Law enforcement and lawmakers have faced growing calls in recent years to eliminate what's known as the rape kit backlog — swabs and samples collected in sex assault cases but never tested for DNA. Victims' advocates see the untested kits as signs that sexual assaults weren't taken seriously enough. Vance, who took office after New York City cleared its own testing backlog, and the Department of Justice have worked in tandem since 2015 to help other places tackle theirs. The two agencies have paid to send years-old kits to labs from dozens of states and communities, ranging from Flint, Michigan, to Mobile, Alabama, to Las Vegas. Some cities also have mobilized on their own. But the big grants from Manhattan and Washington infused this movement with resources. The backlog built up over decades, partly due to the cost of tests that can run $1,000 or more. "We tested 55,000 rape kits across 20 states with our investment. And of those kits we tested more than 18,000 newly developed DNA profiles were extracted from biological evidence and uploaded into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System which is called Kota," Vance said. "Now to date and there will be more solutions of crimes and there will be more prosecutions. But to date that investment has already yielded 186 new arrests, 64 convictions including 47 sexual assault convictions. And as I said that's only today" But victims' advocates also say many sex assault cases simply got sidelined over the years by police and prosecutors who unduly disbelieved or downplayed victims' allegations. "Having my kit finally tested was a catalyst for hope and change not only for myself but for my fellow survivors and for all those who are impacted by sexual assault," Myisha, who did not provide her last name, a rape survivor said at the press conference in Manhattan announcing the results. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...