Louisville Democratic Senator Denise Harper Angel has proposed a bill that would require police departments to submit rape kits to the state testing lab within 30 days of receiving them. Victims would also be notified of the testing progress.
Sen. Harper Angel says the bill is “absolutely necessary.”
“Any victim of rape needs to know and deserves to know that their test is going to be tested and we have to get criminals off the streets”
The bill would also forbid anyone from destroying rape kits.
A report from the state auditor’s office last year said that it takes about 8 months for rape kits to be tested once they’re submitted to the state laboratory. The report also said about 41 percent of local law enforcement agencies don’t submit all of their rape kits.
