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PORTANTINO’S RAPE KIT TESTING BILL APPROVED BY SENATE COMMITTEE
Arcadia Weekly Jul 05, 2011
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Assemblymember Anthony Portantino’s (D-La Cañada Flintridge) bill to help put more rapists behind bars passed another legislative hurdle today when it was approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee 7 to 0. AB 322 seeks to shed light on the problem of untested rape kit evidence from sexual assaults and help bring rapists to justice.
“It’s unconscionable that thousands of rape kits remain unopened and untested across California,” stated Assemblymember Portantino. “Rape kits hold vital evidence that is crucial to a criminal conviction, while the clock is ticking on the statute of limitation for these crimes. It’s frustrating to know that a rapist could be walking free and a victim who suffered is further disrespected because a vital piece of evidence went untested.”
Under AB 322, law enforcement agencies will be required to report to the Department of Justice the number of rape kits they collect, the number that are the result of stranger-rape and the number of kits tested beginning when the law goes into effect. The bill will also establish a two-and-a-half-year pilot project to test all rape kits in California counties that make arrests in fewer than 12% of the forcible rapes reported in that county.
Rape kits hold potentially crucial information from the crime scene. DNA evidence from the kits is used to compare samples from known felons in State and Federal databases. If you don’t process the evidence you can’t check it against the database.
In 2009, law enforcement agencies reported 8,698 forcible rapes in California. But, arrests were made in less than 24% of the cases. By comparison, New York City, which has a policy of testing every rape kit, has an arrest rate around 70%.
This is the third time Assemblymember Portantino has introduced legislation aimed at getting law enforcement agencies to process rape kits in a timely manner. Despite strong bi-partisan support, former Governor Schwarzenegger twice vetoed earlier efforts. Assemblymember Portantino is hoping that this time with a new Governor and new language, the result will be different.
