Schimel: Flood Of Submissions Slowing Sexual Asssault Kit Testing

Attorney General Brad Schimel says a glut of submissions nationwide is slowing progress on analyzing thousands of untested sexual assault kits on Wisconsin police department shelves.

The Joyful Heart Foundation has been pushing states to analyze untested kits in hopes of developing DNA profiles for serial offenders.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s website, 4,030 Wisconsin kits have been designated for testing in Wisconsin. As of last week, 594 had been tested, with 58 tested at the state crime lab and 536 tested at a private lab.

Schimel told The Associated Press that individual cities across the country are each submitting thousands of kits to a limited number of labs that can’t keep up, but he said DOJ will still test all the kits in less than three years.

Schimel also said a backlog has developed again at the state crime labs due to an influx of evidence submissions.

He says submissions have increased 80 percent over the last two years.

Schimel’s predecessor, J.B. Van Hollen, eliminated the backlog by hiring more analysts.

Schimel said his department is more strictly enforcing submission guidelines and has created 11 temporary lab positions.

He said if things don’t improve, he’ll ask lawmakers to let him hire more permanent analysts but he wants to try to solve the problem internally first.