Oh No, Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Grows!

August 9th, 2024

Oregon celebrated clearing its backlog of sexual assault evidence kits in 2018. Now, lawmakers are surprised there are again hundreds in need of processing.

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon State Police data shows a current backlog of 810 sexual assault evidence kits that need to be processed in a lab — a backlog that's been growing for years, unbeknownst to some state lawmakers.

"It completely took me by surprise, I had been under the impression we had cleared the backlog, we were one of the first states to clear the backlog, and we had been celebrated nationally for that," said Senator Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis.

Gelser Blouin sponsored legislation, known as Melissa's Law, to help eliminate Oregon's backlog of thousands of untested rape kits.

In 2018, OSP announced it had eliminated the backlog of unprocessed kits, and Gelser Blouin said she believed that if the problem grew again that someone would raise the alarm.

"I understood that it took a while to clear (the backlog) because it built up for a long time, but it's a little bit demoralizing to know that we climbed the mountain once and got there and we're now back at the base and have to go back up," Gelser Blouin told KGW.

Delays in testing rape kits can delay justice for sexual assault survivors and impede efforts to prevent future crimes.

OSP data shows the backlog started to significantly grow again in 2021 — climbing to more than a thousand pending kits in a given month. Staff vacancies and pandemic-related effects contributed to the rising backlog, according to state police.

Recently, the backlog has shown signs of improvement, decreasing in each of the last three months.

Captain Kyle Kennedy, a spokesperson for OSP, said new lab technicians have been hired and he's confident the backlog will continue to decrease, calling it a "sensitive" and "high-priority" situation for the department.

OSP will testify in front of lawmakers about the backlog at the upcoming legislative days.

"It is our responsibility as legislators to follow these things, passing a bill is just the first part," Gelser Blouin said. "Follow-up is important."