Today’s guest post from the California Department of Justice Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory highlights the Rapid DNA Service (RADS) system, which has enabled the faster processing of DNA in newly collected rape kits in California. Here, the laboratory explores the impact of the program and the state’s progress in expanding RADS to all counties. In 2014, […]
Prepares to Testify before U.S. Senate Committee FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2015CONTACT: Melissa Schwartz, media@joyfulheartfoundation.org NEW YORK – As part of its ongoing effort to identify the number of untested rape kits across the United States, the Joyful Heart Foundation today released information obtained from the following cities: • Charlotte, North Carolina (1,019 kits) […]
Governor Jerry Brown has returned Assembly Bill 322 to the California State Assembly without his signature. AB 322 would have established a two-and-a-half-year pilot program to test all rape kits in ten California counties that make arrests in fewer than 12% of reported forcible rapes. Governor Brown explained his decision to veto the bill: “I […]
California Assemblyman Anthony Portantino has introduced legislation in the state government to track and report untested rape kits and set a time limit for labs to process them. From an article on patch.com: The bill, AB 322…would mandate that rape kits used for DNA testing be sent by law enforcement agencies to a lab within […]
As many of you have heard, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced this week that they have ended their “historic” rape kit backlog of 6,132 kits, resulting in at least 300 new arrests. This is a significant milestone in the work to reform rape kit testing in Los Angeles city. For the past three […]
