Law enforcement, advocates support rape kit bill

ATLANTA - After years of confusion and frustration, rape victims in Georgia may soon get the help they need from the state.

A House of Representatives subcommittee approved a bill Thursday that outlines specific deadlines for hospitals and law enforcement to turn over rape kits for testing to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Division of Forensic Sciences.

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The bill's primary sponsor, Representative Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, calls this a national "epidemic." He drafted the legislation in response to the hundreds of rape kits discovered last year that sat untested at hospitals and in evidence rooms across the state.

"We need to put forth this process to make sure there is no lag, there is no delay and everybody's responsibilities are clear," said Holcomb.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said his agency has reached out to hospitals and law enforcement agencies over the last several months urging them to turn over any untested kits. The GBI now has 1,450 rape kits they plan to turn over to a third party lab in March. According to Keenan, a new grant will cover the cost of that testing.

At least two law enforcement agencies had what Keenan described as "several hundred" rape kits put away in storage.

The confusion, Keenan said, came from a change in GBI policy more than ten years ago.

"We started out doing DNA testing in sexual assault cases only when there was a suspect, but that changed over a decade ago. Now, we will accept DNA for analysis on any crime," Keenan explained. "But there were still law enforcement officer that believed the old way of doing business."

House Bill 827 would require law enforcement to submit a rape kit to the GBI for testing within 30 days.  The agency would also have to file an annual report showing how many kits they tested and how many remain in storage.

"Candidly, we don't know the number right now and that's part of what we want to do is make sure that the kits are forwarded to the criminal justice system," said Rep. Holcomb.

The bill must now go to the full Judiciary committee for approval before it moves to the House floor for a vote.