Illinois Passes Law Mandating the Testing of Rape Kits

Last fall, I told you about the appalling situation nationally concerning untested rape kits — a collection of any physical evidence an attacker may have left behind, including vaginal swabs, urine samples, blood tests, and fingernail scrapings. Some estimates put the number of untested kits in this country in the neighborhood of 180,000. According to Human Rights Watch, in the state of Illinois alone only 20% of rape kits collected since 1995 have been tested. Thankfully, the state is finally ready to do something about it.

Last week, Illinois Governor Patrick J. Quinn signed a law that would require law enforcement to test all the rape kits within ten days of receiving them. This goes into effect on October 1. A second part of the new law addresses the old kits still in storage. As of October 15, according to the Chicago Tribune, police must provide a inventory of all untested kits in storage. Within the following four months, the lab must have a plan for processing the rape kits that are part of crimes where the statue of limitations has not yet expired.

This law closes a major legislative loophole, since previously police were only required to submit kits for testing if "sufficient staffing and resources are available." Talk about vague, ineffective language. No wonder so many tests fell through the cracks. Regarding this latest law, Illinois state attorney general Lisa Madigan is quoted in The New York Times as saying, "As a direct result of this law, we will increase the number of arrests and prosecutions of sex offenders and get them out of our communities and into prison."

This law is the first of its kind in the country, but hopefully it won't be the last. While this is obviously positive news for Illinois, it is only one state. All women deserve the kind of justice that Illinois residents will get. While no other state has passed a law similar law, cities like New York and Los Angeles have begun to attack their own rape kits backlogs. In fact, in Los Angeles, police were able to catch a sex offender that had been eluding them since the 1970s, all because they tested an old rape kit.

Now other cities and states need to get on board and address their own rape kit backlogs. Processing these kits can put dangerous offenders behind bars, free wrongly accused persons, and give much-needed closure to victims and their families. This is a movement everyone should be able to get behind.

Photo credit: alancleaver_2000