TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—This week the Florida Department of Law Enforcement published the latest Sexual Assault Kit Progress Report, and Attorney General Pam Bondi is highlighting the report’s latest figures. According to the progress report, 3,663 previously unprocessed kits have been tested as part of Florida’s efforts to eliminate the backlog of unprocessed sexual assault kits. As of June 30, 2017, DNA from these kits have produced 843 CODIS hits.
To view the most recent progress report, click here.
In 2015, Attorney General Bondi brought together law enforcement, prosecutors, victims and state lawmakers to advocate for state funding to process Florida’s thousands of untested kits. During the 2016 legislative session, Attorney General Bondi helped pass legislation to provide an initial $2.3 million for testing and additional funding to raise the wages of lab analysts, purchase new forensic testing equipment and upgrade existing lab equipment. Additionally, as of July last year, Florida law requires all newly collected sexual assault kits to be processed by the laboratory within 120 days of receipt.
This latest progress report shows FDLE is on track to reach its goal of processing 8,600 kits by June 2019.
