In recent years, Washington has taken incremental steps toward justice for victims of sexual assault. A new directive from the attorney general’s office represents another necessary move in that direction.
The office of Bob Ferguson announced this week that it would allocate $177,204 to local law enforcement agencies for refrigeration units. The funds come from the federal Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and will help ensure that evidence does not expire due to a lack of storage capacity.
Three local agencies — the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Camas and Woodland — are among 53 entities throughout the state that will benefit from the grant.
The move is laudable, and it is a reminder of Washington’s lax pursuit of sexual assault cases over the years. It also is a reminder of how public attention to an issue can motivate legislative action.
Less than 10 years ago, Washington had more than 10,000 untested sexual assault kits — semen and other evidence that had been collected from victims. As national organization End the Backlog explains: “When tested, DNA evidence contained by rape kits can be an incredibly powerful tool to solve and prevent crime. It can identify an unknown assailant and confirm the presence of a known suspect.”
End the Backlog, a national advocacy group founded by actor Mariska Hargitay, has played a significant role in bringing attention to untested kits and the treatment of rape victims. With that newfound attention, legislation in Washington has helped shrink the rape-kit backlog, require trauma training for police officers and establish the nation’s first evidence-kit tracking system.
And last year, lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 1109 to alter how law enforcement approaches sexual-assault cases. “The sexual assault kits are being tested, but we want more than that,” Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, said at the time.
According to the state’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, about 4,000 kits remain untested in Washington. On the End the Backlog website, Washington is credited with having enacted “statewide comprehensive reform.”
That reform, however, has had some gaps. Local law enforcement agencies, which are on the front lines of investigating and prosecuting cases, have been tasked with saving evidence from kits but often do not have the resources to follow through.
Now, Ferguson said, “More storage means more evidence can be tested, and more crimes can be solved. These resources will bring justice to survivors.” It also can prevent future crimes by leading to incarceration for would-be repeat offenders.
A 2020 law, House Bill 2318, requires evidence from unreported sexual assaults to be stored for 20 years. According to the attorney general’s office, “An unreported sexual assault kit is taken at a hospital and stored by law enforcement, should a victim choose to file a report.” Evidence from reported assaults must be stored for 100 years.
It must be mentioned that evidence from sexual assaults can be abused by law enforcement. It recently was revealed, for example, that San Francisco police have been using DNA from rape victims to link them to unrelated crimes. The danger is that the practice could prevent some assault victims from coming forward.
Instead, solving and prosecuting sexual assault cases must be a top priority for lawmakers and law enforcement. Washington in recent years has rightly focused on providing justice for victims.
