Where is the backlog? Where is it being resolved?

There are no comprehensive, national numbers on the nature and scope of the rape kit backlog. Numerous experts have estimated that there may be hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits in police and crime lab storage facilities throughout the country.

Backlogs Across the United States

The rape kit backlog exists in police and crime lab storage facilities across the country. No state or federal government entity tracks rape kit data nationally or by locality, so it is difficult to determine which states and cities have problems, and which do not. Still, media and non-governmental organization investigative reports have found rape kit backlogs in many jurisdictions across the country, including:

• 1,100 in Albuquerque ¹
• 2,100 in Birmingham ¹
• 1,200 in Cincinnati ¹
• 5,600 in Detroit ¹
• 3,800 in Houston ¹
• 4,000 across the State of Illinois ²
• 12,500 in Los Angeles ³
• 16,000 in New York City (c. 2003; now eliminated) ⁴
• 4,100 in Phoenix ¹
• 1,050 across the State of Rhode Island ¹
• 11,100 in San Antonio ¹