Seattle police to begin DNA testing on all stored rape kits

Seattle police willbegin DNA testing on all sexual-assault evidence kits and dig into the backlog of 1,276 stored kits that were never tested,the departmentannounced on Thursday.

Police said the decision was made after discussions with the King County Prosecutors Office, Harborview Medical Center and victim-advocacy groups.

We will test all sexual-assault kits moving forward and begin addressing untested kits, Capt. Deanna Nollette, supervisor of the SPDsSpecial Victims Unit, said in a news release.

Theres abacklog of untested kits nationwide, in some areas because of the cost of DNA testing, which can range from$500 to $1,500 per kit.

Sexual assault victims generally undergo a forensic examination in which potential evidence such as blood, saliva, or semen is collected and preserved in what is commonly called a rape kit.

After receiving a kit, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab examines evidence for DNA belonging toa suspect. Results are entered into the Combined DNA Index System, CODIS, a large FBI database containing DNA profiles.

The Seattle Police Department has collected 1,641 rape kits during the past decade, of which only 365 have been tested by the state crime lab.

Last year, Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told Times news partner KING-TVit wasdepartment policyto only test rape kits from cases in which charges had been filed.

Whitcomb said police need tobalance the need for DNA evidence with the potential damage to people who are innocent.

We dont want to be putting the DNA of uncharged people into a federal database, Whitcomb told KING-TV. It really boils down to, when youve got a charged case youve met a certain threshold, youve done a follow-up investigation, youve got a real need to have that evidence in court.

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Seattle police to begin DNA testing on all stored rape kits