Testing Rape Kit Backlog Leads to Over 1,000 Arrests Nationwide

After New York City cleared its own rape kit backlog, the Justice Department and Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 2015 awarded nearly $80 million in grants to help address the national backlog on rape kits. The result of that effort, the Associated Press reports, is more than 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions according to officials.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office poured $38 million into a grant that tested a backlog of 55,252 rape kits and has led to 186 arrests and 64 convictions across the country. The Justice Department, meanwhile, funded testing through a parallel initiative for an additional 45,000 rape kits that resulted in nearly 900 prosecutions and 500 convictions and plea bargains nationwide.

via Testing Rape Kit Backlog Leads to Over 1,000 Arrests Nationwide