Massachusetts

According to the Quarter 2 SAECK Report, 3,610 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 2,339 untested kits in the state.

According to the Quarter 1 SAECK Quarterly, 3,607 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 2,342 untested kits in the state.

In 2025, legislators in Massachusetts introduced S1079, which would require kits to be preserved for at least 15 years. The bill also mandates that survivors be notified at least 60 days prior to any intended destruction of their kit, or that evidence be retained for an additional 12 months beyond the 15-year period—or for a longer duration if agreed upon by the survivor and law enforcement.

In August 2024, the Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor conducted a performance audit of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) for the period from July 1, 2020 to October 31, 2022. The report found that EOPSS failed to ensure that its provider sexual crime report data was free of personally identifiable information of sexual assault survivors; the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory met the 90-day timeframe for the quantity-limited evidence review of previously untested kits; and the Lab shipped kits in a timely manner. EOPSS’s Track-Kit system also showed incorrect locations for kits.

According to the August 2024 SAECK Quarterly Report, 3,356 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 2,593 untested kits in the state.

According to the July 2024 SAECK Quarterly Report, 3,170 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 2,779 untested kits in the state.

According to the January 2024 SAECK Quarterly Report, 2,583 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 3,366 untested kits in the state.

According to the October 2023 SAECK Quarterly Report, 1,949 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 4,000 untested kits in the state.

According to the July 2023 SAECK Quarterly Report, 1,473 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,949 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore, there are 4,476 untested kits in the state.

According to the February 2023 SAECK Quarterly report, 634 formerly backlogged kits have been tested of the 5,947 backlogged kits that the state determined “eligible for testing”. Therefore there are 5,313 untested kits in the state.

After working with the media and legislators, despite pushback from the governor, Massachusetts passed H4013, closing a previous statutory loophole. H4013 mandated the testing of backlogged kits within 180 days, called for quarterly inventory of rape kits (see bill’s amendment), and allocated $8 million for kit testing.

In 2021, following The Accountability Project’s efforts, two local journalists sent Freedom Of Information Act requests to the state crime lab and uncovered more than 6,300 untested rape kits there. S2371, which passed in 2018, required backlogged kits to be submitted to the lab. However, a loophole in this law had allowed the kits that were “submitted” to the crime lab to be left untested.

According to a report by The Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Quarterly Report there were 5947 untested kits in Massachusetts in 2021.

In 2020, BJA awarded the Office of Grants and Research $1.5 million to test kits, investigate and prosecute cases, and re-engage survivors.

In 2020, Massachusetts’ tracking system went live

In 2019, Massachusetts legislators enacted H3506, a supplemental budget containing $8 million to fund rape kit reforms passed in 2018. With this bill, Massachusetts has enacted all six pillars of comprehensive rape kit reform.

In August 2019, The Accountability Project issued open records requests to bring the number of untested kits in Massachusetts to light. The requests were sent to 15 police departments including Brockton, Cambridge, Fall River, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Newton, Quincy, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham, and Worcester.

According to a media report by Mass Live there were 387 untested kits in Massachusetts in 2019. Joyful Heart suspects this number is incomplete, due to the fact that only 87 of 400 agencies reported their numbers.

In 2018, Massachusetts legislators enacted S2371, mandating a statewide inventory of untested rape kits with a report due annually on or before September 1st, the timely testing of newly collected rape kits, and the submission and testing of all backlogged kits. It also established a statewide tracking system for kits and granted survivors the right to know the testing status of their rape kits. Read Joyful Heart’s letter of support.

Also in 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security $2 million to test kits, investigate and prosecute cases, and re-engage survivors in the criminal justice system.

In 2016, Massachusetts enacted H4364, requiring hospitals to notify survivors that, regardless of whether or not they choose to report the crime, their rape kits will be preserved for 15 years. The law also requires all government entities to preserve kits for the duration of the statute of limitations, or at least 15 years.

In 2015, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) requested reports from the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Crime Lab and police agencies about the number of untested rape kits in their inventories. Only 75 of 351 municipal police departments and the MSP lab submitted reports, and 83% of the police departments that did submit reported zero untested kits in their inventory. The 10 largest police departments in Massachusetts either did not submit reports or reported zero untested kits in the audit.

In 2014, The Accountability Project issued an open records request to bring the number of untested kits in Boston to light. The Boston Police Department (BPD) stated that all kits they receive are submitted to the BPD Crime Lab for testing, although testing may be halted upon officer request (if, for instance, a survivor is deemed “uncooperative.”) Although BPD indicated they received 882 rape kits into evidence between 2009 and 2013, it is unclear how many of these kits were halted after being submitted to the lab.