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Staff ReportsMarch 23, 2016

Local law enforcement agencies will have to turn over rape kits to the state for testing within 30 days under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Rick Scott. “This legislation will provide thousands of women with a renewed sense of safety and closure as they heal from the horrific crime of rape,” the governor said in a […]

Ryan RayMarch 23, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott continued a flurry of post-Legislative Session activity Wednesday morning, signing nine bills passed during the 2016 lawmaking period into state law. The highest-profile bills meeting the governor’s approval include a requirement that Florida law enforcement test all rape kits within 120 days of their submission, the creation of a needle exchange pilot program in […]

Associated PressMarch 2, 2016

Law enforcement agencies will soon have to turn over rape kits for testing within 30 days under a bill sent Wednesday to Gov. Rick Scott, who plans to sign it. The bill is a response to a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits in Florida, an issue Attorney General Pam Bondi brought awareness to […]

Jim RosicaMarch 2, 2016

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday thanked lawmakers for moving legislation to speed up DNA testing for criminal cases, including what are commonly called rape kits. Such kits may include swabs of body surfaces and samples of bodily fluid for use in apprehending a suspect in a sexual assault or battery. The bill (SB 636) was passed […]

Melissa RossJanuary 5, 2016

State Rep. Janet Adkins has introduced legislation intended to clear the massive backlog of rape kits across the state that she hopes moves quickly when the Legislature convenes next week. “It’s a reasonable expectation for victims of sexual assault that when an evidence kit is collected, that something is done with that kit, that the […]

Associated PressNovember 18, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott is seeking $8.5 million to help process a backlog of nearly 11,000 untested rape kits. Scott announced his proposal in a news release Wednesday. The money would be used to upgrade Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime laboratories. It would be spent on lab equipment, DNA database upgrades and crime scene vehicles. […]

Associated PressNovember 3, 2015

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says nearly 11,000 rape kits have not been submitted for analysis. In a spreadsheet released on its website Tuesday, the FDLE tallied 10,900 kits that have not been tested. The data came from 262 law enforcement agencies across the state. Seven law enforcement agencies did not report data. The […]

Associated PressSeptember 9, 2015

The number of untested rape kits sitting in law enforcement agencies across Florida is anybody’s guess. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the number is in the thousands, but she wasn’t sure exactly how many. That’s why she’s calling for more funding for processing the sexual assault kits in the next state budget. The […]

Tag: rape kits
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