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KPBS Midday Edition

Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego

Vials of evidence in a sexual assault case are labeled and sorted at the Houston Forensic Science Center, April 2, 2015.
Associated Press
Vials of evidence in a sexual assault case are labeled and sorted at the Houston Forensic Science Center, April 2, 2015.

Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego
Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego GUEST: Kelly Davis, freelance journalist

In 2014, a state audit looked at the rape kit backlog for three California cities: Sacramento, Oakland and San Diego.

The audit found less than half of the kits were tested.

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Since that time, two of the three cities — Sacramento and Oakland — began a policy of testing all rape kits. San Diego has not.

According to Voice of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department believes testing all rape kit evidence is not the smartest or most efficient way to investigate rape cases.

SDPD has said it has about 2,400 rape kits that have not been sent to the crime lab to get analyzed.

Kelly Davis, a San Diego-based freelance journalist who wrote the story for Voice of San Diego, discusses how San Diego handles rape kits on Midday Edition on Tuesday.

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