Fort Worth police are working to prioritize processing of hundreds of backlogged sex assault kits .
Sexual assault kits often contain DNA and other samples that have been taken after a person reports a sexual assault to help with the investigation of the crime. To complete the process, a post-test review and entry into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to compare DNA profiles against known and unknown DNA profiles is required.
While police chief Neil Noakes said the current backlog is due to a need for the post-test review and CODIS entry rather than actual, there are currently 779 already tested kits that need to go through the final process.
“I take full responsibility for the situation we’re in right now, and I take full responsibility for correcting this and getting this right,” said Noakes.
Noakes cited a range of other issues contributing to the accumulation of kits and delayed processing, including challenges with lack of certified staff available to perform the CODIS review and data entry.