Attorney General candidate pledges to work with policy makers, medical professionals, social workers and federal, state and local law enforcement officials to eliminate backlog and seek justice for victims of rape
October 7, 2014
Contact: John Findlay – Media@AdamLaxalForAG.com
Henderson, NV– Today, Republican nominee for Attorney General Adam Laxalt announced that if elected, he will seek to drastically cut the backlog of rape kits in Nevada, with the goal of completely eliminating the number of untested kits currently being held up from lab testing due to a lack of resources.
Currently, there are thousands of untested rape kits in Nevada. Crime lab testing can take weeks on each kit and it is expensive, costing from $1,000 to $1,500 per kit, according to recent news reports. The reports indicate that some of these kits simply are not tested due to specific circumstances involving specific cases (guilty pleas by the attacker, lack of charges being filed or the existence of better evidence being available for prosecutors) but yet, many of these kits remain in an evidence vault.
“My pledge is that I will dedicate a team of investigators and lawyers in the Attorney General’s office with a goal of significantly reducing, if not all-out eliminating, this backlog by the end of my first term,” stated Adam Laxalt. “Many times, the processing of rape kits is a prioritization issue in regards to funding. I will lean on law enforcement to keep this issue at the top of the list even when it seems cases are hard because of uncooperative witnesses. As we know, these rapists who go unfound continue to attack our women and children. Processing our backlog will get dangerous criminals off the streets for good. It would be awful for the victims of sexual assault--and that's mostly women and children--if the key to catching and prosecuting a serial sexual predator was an untested rape kit sitting in a storage locker."
“My plan will require an aggressive approach to seeking federal grants, prioritized funding from the legislature and even prioritization within the Attorney General’s own budget,” Laxalt continued. “Recent news reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicate that there are a number of reasons this backlog exists. However, with thousands of these kits going untested, it is likely that perpetrators are freely walking our streets, able to prey on another victim. Nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of our citizens and that is why I make this pledge.”
U.S. Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) recently announced a federal grant in the amount of $650,000 to be provided to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, specifically to help address their own rape kit backlog. Washoe County has nearly completely eliminated their rape kit backlog. This occurred after the 2008, high-profile rape and murder of Brianna Denison, when the community rallied to raise the money to address the backlog.
Further, Washoe County’s Sexual Assault Response Team/Child Abuse Response and Evaluations (SART/CARES) programs provide a great model for others in that they establish cooperative ventures of medical professionals, law enforcement and social services agencies operating through the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office. Under the leadership of Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick, Washoe County’s SART/CARES facility is now housed in the new Child Advocacy Center, which expands the notion of co-location of investigators and service providers in an effort to minimize the disruption in the lives of sexual assault victims, especially children. The program serves about 16 law enforcement jurisdictions including 2 California counties.
“I applaud Representative Dina Titus and our entire congressional delegation in diligently seeking federal funding that will keep our women and children safe,” Laxalt added. “Further, we need to carefully consider expanding the programs that have worked in eliminating the backlog of rape kits – whether those ideas come from other Nevada counties and their respective law enforcement divisions, or even from other states facing a similar crisis. This is as an important of a pledge as I can make in seeking to become Nevada’s next Attorney General, and I will personally dedicate my time and efforts to this cause if elected.”