Rape cases sit idle

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Forensic evidence in rape cases is piling up in police departments across the country without being tested, according to a new study. Working for the Justice Department, a group of North Carolina researchers found that evidence had not been analyzed in nearly 20 percent of unsolved rape cases that have forensic evidence. That totals tens of thousands of cases.

Researchers found that the evidence, which is collected from victims and put in “rape kits,” can sit for years even though it is key to making a prosecutor’s case. It may be no wonder, then, that only a quarter of reported rapes last year ended in arrest.

Many police agencies won’t test a rape kit without a suspect, in part because it is expensive — tests can cost up to $1,500 per kit.

Experts say the backlog is a danger to the public because the evidence could identify suspects and take rapists off the streets. University of Massachusetts psychologist David Lisak, an expert on sexual assault crimes, said 71 percent of rapists are repeat offenders.

Testing evidence, even without a suspect, is helpful. In trying to reduce much of its backlog this year, the Los Angeles Police Department identified 405 suspects by testing evidence and comparing the results with a federal criminal DNA database.

In 2003 Congress tried to reduce the backlog by approving a $755 million grant program to help states analyze DNA evidence. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., recently told CBS News that he is concerned “that this is not a high enough priority in some parts of the country in law enforcement.”

We hope that is not the case. Congress should investigate why the backlogs still exist and find ways to make analyzing rape kits a priority.