Missouri

Missouri has implemented all but one of six pillars of rape kit reform. If the state grants victims the right to know the status and location of their kit, it will achieve comprehensive rape kit reform.

Reform Status
Some Reform
Testing Status
In-Process
Untested Kits
Now 297*
Then 5424**
* According to a press release by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office there were 297 untested kits in Missouri in 2023.
** According to a media report by STL Today there were 5424 untested kits in Missouri in 2018.

Pillar Count

5/6 Pillars
Missouri has implemented all but one of six pillars of rape kit reform. If the state grants victims the right to know the status and location of their kit, it will achieve comprehensive rape kit reform.
Statewide Inventory

Yes, the state carried out a one-time inventory.

Missouri carried out an inventory of untested kits through non-legislative means.

Test Backlogged Kits

In-Process, the state has committed to testing its backlogged kits.

Missouri is eliminating its backlog through non-legislative means.

Test New Kits

Yes, all newly collected kits are being tested.

  • According to the law, how much time after a rape kit examination do hospitals have to notify law enforcement that a kit is ready to be picked up? Not specified
  • According to the law, after being notified, within what time frame is law enforcement required to pick up the kit? 14 Days
  • According to the law, after picking the kit up, within what time frame is law enforcement required to submit the kit to the lab? 14 Days
  • According to the law, after receiving the kit, within what time frame is the lab required to test the kit? Not specified
  • Does the law allow crime labs to outsource kits for testing if they are unable to meet the deadline? Not specified
Implement Tracking System

Yes, tracking system in use.

  • Does the law state that the tracking system should track initial collection at hospital, inventory and storage by law enforcement, and testing and storage by state labs? Yes
  • Does the law state that the tracking system should track if kit a has been destroyed? No
  • Does the law allow all agencies who participate in the tracking system to update the status of a kit? Yes
  • Does the law state that the tracking system should have a victim portal? Yes
  • Does the law require law enforcement, labs, and hospitals to participate in the tracking system? Yes
  • Does the law state that all previously untested kits should be entered into the system? No
Victim's Right To Know

No, the state has not granted victims the right to notice and be informed on the status of their kit.

  • Do victims have the right to receive information of the location, testing date, and testing results of their kit? n/a
  • Do victims have the right to be informed when there is any change in the status of their case? n/a
  • Do victims have the right to receive notification before destruction of their kit? n/a
  • Are victims granted further preservation of the kit or its probative contents? n/a
  • Are victims provided with the contact information for the designated liaison(s) at the corresponding law enforcement agency at the time that a kit is collected? n/a
  • Do victims have the right to receive a physical document identifying their rights under law? n/a
Fund Reform

Yes, the state has allocated ongoing funding.

See state reform timeline below.

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State Reform Timeline

2022
Inventory
1986 untested kits in Missouri

According to a press release by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office there were 1986 untested kits in Missouri in 2022.

Bill: Enacted
HB3020 enacted in Missouri

In June 2022, the Missouri governor enacted HB3020 into law, allocating $4,500,000 for crime labs sexual assault kit testing.

2021
Report
Backlog reported in Missouri

In 2021, Missouri’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request with Governor’s Recommendations reported that lab turnaround time for DNA cases, including for sexual assault cases, had increased from around 300 days to more than 400 days in the last year. The budget request also reported that DNA case backlog had increased from around 2,500 in 2019 to around 4,000 cases in 2020.

Bill: Failed
HB463 failed in Missouri

In 2021, Missouri legislators introduced SB463, which would have provided more comprehensive language on survivors’ rights, ensuring that survivors had the right to a forensic exam, an analysis of the forensic evidence, and the results of that analysis at no cost to the survivor. This bill failed to pass.

Non-Legislative Reform
$2.6 million appropriated in Missouri

In September 2021, the Missouri attorney general put out a press release which announced the state had appropriated roughly $2.6 million in public funds to test backlogged kits. The attorney general also said that 2,101 kits from the 2019 inventory had been sent in for testing.

Other
Missouri's tracking system goes live

In 2021, Missouri’s tracking system went live.

2020
Bill: Enacted
SB569 enacted in Missouri

In July 2020, Governor Mike Parson signed SB569 into law. This law requires law enforcement to drop off kits to the lab within 14 days. SB569 also established protocols to implement a tracking system, including a survivor portal. Medical facilities, labs, and law enforcement agencies are all required to participate in the tracking system. Finally, the law granted survivors the right to be informed on the status of their kits. Read our letter of support. The same year, the Missouri State Public Defender System sued the state and the Attorney General Eric Schmitt over the legislation. In March 2022, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the legislation, leaving Missouri survivors without this right.

Funding
$2 million awarded in Missouri

In 2020, BJA awarded the Office of the Attorney General $2 million to sustain its work on rape kit reform.

2019
Non-Legislative Reform
Missouri AG committed to ending backlog

In 2019, the attorney general’s office committed to making the elimination of the rape kit backlog a top priority. Read our letter of support to the Office of the Attorney General.

2018
Bill: Enacted
HB1355 enacted in Missouri

In 2018, Missouri legislators enacted HB1355, requiring the state to develop procedures for gathering, transmitting, and storing rape kits. The procedures would require law enforcement to take possession of a kit within 14 days of notification and to submit the kit to a lab within 14 days of taking possession. Law enforcement was to secure a kit for a period of 30 years if the offense has not been adjudicated. Also under this law, the Office of the Attorney General was to establish protocols to implement a rape kit tracking system that allows survivors access to monitor the current status of their kits.

Inventory
5,424 kits found in Missouri

In October 2018, the Office of the Attorney General reported 5,424 untested kits in the state.

Inventory
4,889 kits found in Missouri

In May 2018, the inventory report revealed that 4,889 rape kits in Missouri had not been submitted for DNA testing.

Funding
Over $2 million awarded in Missouri

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded the Missouri Office of the Attorney General $2,871,423 to test kits, investigate and prosecute cases, and re-engage survivors.

2017
Non-Legislative Reform
Inventory began in Missouri

In November 2017, following media reports, Attorney General Josh Hawley announced a thorough inventory of unprocessed rape kits statewide.

2015
Funding
$337,197 awarded in Missouri

In 2015, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office awarded the Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners $337,197 to test 490 rape kits.

2014
Accountability
1,324 kits found in Missouri

In 2014, The Accountability Project issued an open records request to bring the number of untested rape kits in Kansas City and St. Louis to light. Through this request, we uncovered a backlog of 1,324 untested kits in Kansas City, and learned that the St. Louis Police Department Crime Laboratory screened or otherwise processed nearly all rape kits between 2004 and 2014.

Accountability

We have issued public records requests, through the Freedom of Information Act, to the following jurisdictions in Missouri to discover whether they possess any untested rape kits.
Target
Request Year
Untested kits discovered
Information received
St Louis, MO
2014
0
Kansas City, MO
2014
1324

More from Missouri

Sweeping Rape Kit Reforms in Missouri Head to Governor
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Joyful Heart Releases New Data on Rape Kit Backlogs in Five U.S. Cities
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