LA Back Tracks on Getting Rape Kits Tested

Remember that Human Rights Watch report on the horrifying back log of unprocessed rape kits in LA County? Remember how it motivated the LA police department to take responsibility and increase personnel to get justice served, at long last? We posted on it a lot. Well, all that’s kaput:

The announcement today by city leaders that new crime lab positions approved in this year’s budget will not be funded makes it impossible for the Los Angeles Police Department to eliminate its backlog of untested DNA in rape cases, Human Rights Watch said today.
The 26 new crime lab positions were approved by City Council in May 2009, despite a near hiring freeze, at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The police maintained that the positions were necessary to address a backlog of 7,000 untested sets of physical evidence in rape cases, known as rape kits, and to develop a long-term solution for efficient and effective rape kit testing. For the first time since the positions were approved, the city acknowledged today that the positions have not been funded and will not be filled.

So incredibly disappointing. We’ll be in touch with deets on what to do if you’re as pissed as we are.