SEATTLE, WA – The state’s attorney General has finished a survey of untested rape kits in Washington, finding 6,460 kits sitting in police proof lockers around the state. The rape kit inventory was created potential by a $3 million grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.

On high of the vi,460 untested kits, there is a backlog of three,300 kits at the Washington State Patrol crime research lab. concerning five hundred of the three,300 have neither been tested nor area unit within the testing method. Those tests area unit being procured by funding provided by the state legislative assembly in 2015.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson says his workplace is functioning with police departments to urge all vi,460 kits tested, and investigate crimes related to them. Some kits initiate as away because of the early Eighties.

Ferguson says his workplace can pay $1.5 million to urge the kits tested. It will price up to $1,500 to check one kit, in keeping with the regulatory offense support non-profit-making finish the backlog. At that value, it’d price $9.6 million to check all vi,460 kits.

While state police administer the desoxyribonucleic acid testing method, a non-public research lab is getting used for the particular desoxyribonucleic acid testing, in keeping with Ferguson’s workplace. Once a take a look at is complete, the results return to the local department it came from for potential investigation.

“Sexual assault survivors merit justice,” Ferguson aforementioned in an exceedingly announcement. “Each regulatory offence kit tells a story from a survivor that has got to be detected.”

Women attend a rally and vigil before of a borough courthouse occupation to prevent the nomination of Republican Supreme court candidates choose Brett Kavanaugh.