Thirty states and the District of Columbia have implemented electronic systems for law enforcement to track rape kits – with 24 states and D.C. also granting victims the right to know the status of the kits.
A bill introduced by Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, would direct law enforcement agencies, hospitals and labs in Tennessee to participate in the tracking system.
Every rape kit – which contains DNA and other evidence collected through forensic exams of victims performed in hospitals – would receive a tracking number given to victims and law enforcement.
“With technology today, you can track your purchase on Amazon and know where it is at all times,” said Michelle Kuiper, a sexual assault survivor and advocate with the Joyful Heart Foundation, which has fought to eliminate long backlogs in testing of rape kits across the nation.
“All we are asking is the victims would be allowed to do the same,” Kuiper told lawmakers Wednesday in a House criminal justice subcommittee hearing.