Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has vowed one of his top priorities of this new year will be to further reduce he back log of rape test kits.
An estimated 6,000 backlogged cases in Missouri were discovered by the attorney general’s report published in November 2019.
More than one year later, 1,500 of the 6,189 untested SAFE kits have been sent to a private lab to be tested, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which was helped by a federal grant of $2.8 million grant.
Half the grant went to testing and half to an electronic tracking system.
"As we navigate 2021, the Attorney General’s Office will continue to keep our focus on obtaining justice for victims across the state," Schmitt told the St. Louis Record.
He added: "Our work to fight violent crime, combat human trafficking, clear the backlog of untested sexual assault kits, and battle government overreach will continue as we look forward into the new year."
At the beginning of the year, shipping of the untested sexual assault kits had just begun, but there has been good progress, the attorney general said.
"By the end of the year, 1,500 untested sexual assault kits were sent off to the lab to be tested. Despite challenges posed by COVID-19, shipping events continued safely throughout the year," he said.
Kits have produced Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits, that is both of the victim and the alleged perpetrator.
Testing of the kits has produced 38 CODIS hits, which are being investigated and processed by law enforcement.
Additionally, the Office secured $2 million more in federal funding, which will allow for the testing of roughly 900 additional kits.
In his review of 2020, the attorney general noted to challenges posed by COVID-19, but claimed the office "remained fully functional and continued its important work on initiatives like the Safer Streets Initiative and the SAFE Kit Initiative and launched new initiatives like the Hope Initiative and the Cold Case Unit."
“2020 posed a number of different challenges for everyone, and our Office was no different. Despite those challenges, the Attorney General’s Office made important strides in fighting violent crime, clearing the backlog of untested sexual assault kits, and combating human trafficking,” Schmitt said.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be surrounded by dedicated public servants, and our accomplishments in 2020 are a testament to their hard work. I look forward to what 2021 holds.”
He noted the work of the Consumer Protection Section during the pandemic to keep an eye for the for price gouging and other scams, fielding nearly 1,500 complaints, sending several cease and desist letters, and filing suit against the former celebrity preacher, Jim Bakker, for fraud associated with COVID.