According to recent national reports, there are thousands of untested rape kits around the U.S.—leading to a backlog of unsolved cases. The Florida Legislature is now considering putting thousands of dollars into a statewide rape kit assessment.
According to the Associated Press, lawmakers in about half the states in the country are considering measures that include counting all kits and setting deadlines for submitting and processing the DNA evidence. And, Florida could be one of them. In criminal justice budget talks so far, the House and Senate have agreed to 300,000 dollars for a statewide rape kit assessment. Sen. Joe Negron (R-Stuart) is the Criminal and Civil Justice Budget Conference Chair.
“I think it’s more preventative, that we want to make sure we know that FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] needs a little more help with the crime lab because they have a lot of responsibilities, and we want to make sure in that particular area that we know exactly what the turnaround time is and everything is being done as it should be,” said Negron, speaking to reporters over the weekend.
The House and Senate are expected to continue budget talks throughout the rest of the week.
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