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Washington State Tries To Address Massive Rape Kit Backlog

Editor’s Note: This segment includes discussion of sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing or offensive.


It’s estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 rape kits are sitting on the shelves at the Washington State police agency, awaiting DNA testing. DNA evidence can help identify sexual offenders by matching the DNA with a federal database.

As KUOW’s Anna Boiko-Weyrauch (@AnnaBoikoW) reports, the state legislature is looking at how other states have fixed their backlog.

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