TAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ The number of untested rape kits sitting in law enforcement agencies across Florida is anybody’s guess.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the number is in the thousands, but she wasn’t sure exactly how many.
That’s why she’s calling for more funding for processing the sexual assault kits in the next state budget.
The state has committed over $300,000 to study the issue to find out how many untested kits are lingering.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting a study on the number of untested kits and will present the findings to the Legislature in January.
Bondi says sometimes a suspect will plead guilty before the kits need to be analyzed, but it’s still important to collect the DNA in case it’s a match for other crimes.