Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is calling for state police departments to send all rape kits to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He is also encouraging police to send thousands of unprocessed rape kits from previous kits to the crime lab and indicated that four workers will be hired to assist with processing the rape kits.
DeWine stated, “It’s going to mean that victims will have their rape kit tested. That victims will be able to be assured that we as a society are doing everything to catch their assailant. Even if we can’t catch their assailant today, we may be able to catch their assailant five years from now because we tested the rape kit today.”
According to DeWine, approximately 50 percent of the rape kits are not tested. Since 1991, 6,184 rape kits had been collected; however, only 2,599 had undergone forensic testing. Rape kits include biological evidence from the crime—clothing fibers, bodily fluids, such as saliva and semen, and hair—and are often useful in identifying sexual assault and rape assailants.
Cleveland Plain Dealer 12/5/11; Columbus Dispatch 12/5/11
