Lawmakers: Why haven’t 1,500 rape kits been tested?
STAR-ADVERTISER / SEPT. 26, 2001
The Honolulu Police Department showed its DNA and serology lab during a tour in 2001.
Hawaii lawmakers are pushing for more details on Hawaii’s backlog of untested rape kits, which supporters say can be crucial for catching repeat offenders.
The Honolulu Police Department has about 1,500 rape kits that haven’t been tested, primarily because of limited staff and resources, spokeswoman Michelle Yu said. The kits contain specimens and DNA evidence collected from sexual assault victims to be used as evidence.
State senators in two committees advanced a bill Wednesday that would require more reporting from law enforcement departments on untested rape kits.
“In other jurisdictions where they’ve gone back and tested rape kits, they have found not only were they able to close cold cases, but they also discovered that there were a subset of perpetrators that were responsible for multiple rapes,” said Sen. Laura Thielen, who co-introduced the bill.
Nationwide, there are between 100,000 and 400,000 untested sexual assault kits, and at least 28 states have enacted laws to address the problem, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. Michigan passed a law in 2014 setting time limits on how long a rape kit can go without testing before it’s analyzed by a crime lab.
Hawaii’s bill, SB2366, requires reporting, rather than requiring testing within a timeframe, as a first step because it took years just to get the backlog number, Sen. Will Espero said. He and other lawmakers were frustrated in a recent hearing when a police department official couldn’t tell the legislative committee the number of outstanding rape kits. Later, lawmakers were told there was a backlog of 1,500 kits, and then they were told there were 15 untested kits.
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“This issue was not a priority,” Espero said. “They couldn’t give us straight basic answers.”
The laboratory at the Honolulu Police Department tests rape kits when requested by an investigator or prosecutor, Yu said. There’s a backlog of 15 rape kits where a test was requested but not yet conducted, in addition to the other 1,500 untested kits, she said.
The backlog developed because the department receives about 150 kits annually, and the lab receives requests to process about 30 of those kits each year, Yu said in an email. The remaining approximately 120 kits are stored as evidence, she said.
“Because of limited funding and understaffing, the department has had to prioritize which cases are worked on and which kits are tested,” Yu added. “We have and will continue to apply for grants and funding to assist in analyzing the untested kits.”
Rape is often difficult to prove, because “it’s a he-said, she-said situation, and it’s usually a crime with no witnesses,” said Ann Freed, co-chairwoman of the Hawaii Women’s Coalition. “If rape kits were tested, the guy would be in a database. And the next time they got DNA evidence on him, the rape victim would be more credible to a jury.”
It would cost an estimated $2.3 million to test the 1,500 kits, Wayne Kimoto, forensic laboratory director for the Honolulu Police Department, told Espero in an email.
20 responses to “Lawmakers: Why haven’t 1,500 rape kits been tested?”
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Looks like Hawaii’s residents have finally spoken up for unanswered questions to be answered.
Every time I read about this issue there is a different explanation. Now we are back to not enough resources. Last time, most of the 1500 were cases where the suspect was already known and/or the victim was not moving forward with the case. It will be interesting if there is another answer from HPD.
Not to mention that the evidence could be exposed to contamination or degrade over a period of time. Stay tuned.
lee, I agree, but we have to go higher in the pecking order–who’s in charge of all this crap??? Doesn’t the Mayor have anything to do with this–a staff, a cabinet, someone who reports to him??? Checks and balances??? would you run a company like this?? OH!! Forgot, these are all Democrats—no one is in charge!!
1. Police Commissioner
2. Police Commission
3. Mayor (although he can’t fire the PC)
4. Electorate
We’ll today’s Wednesday, right.
So today, we got the Wednesday explanation…
I agree with fiveo’s comment that we need a new Police Commission and – absolutely – a new Police Chief.
So, what’s new at HPD?
The excuse is always the same, more people, more money needed. This is what happens when the public worker unions hold huge influence and control over politicians, like they do in Hawaii. The taxpayers get mediocrity at best but usually poor work performance from unionized public workers. There’s no accountability for anyone, no fear of job loss because the union protects bad employees as strongly as they do the few good ones. They are slowly but surely bleeding this state dry from within, 9 billion in unfunded liabilities and growing.
Plain lazy.
“Highest Standards”
First off, FIRE that Director who had no clue as to how many were not tested. Then FIRE all the managers and supervisors that didn’t do anything to get the work done. Get some competent people to take charge of the operation.
First, we need a new chief and a police commission that has some clout to change things and the mind set which currently exists.
HPD pretty much does what it wants and unfortunately is not accountable to anyone.
Look at the number of officers who have been fired. Look at the fact that HPD is no longer providing crime stats to the FBI. Look at the fact that the police chief is under FBI
investigation. And of course, the failure to test all these rape kits. Just the tip of the iceberg, I think.
“Look at the number of officers who have been fired. ” Look at the officers who have Not been fired.
Since Will Espero is so concerned about City and County business instead of State business, he should run for City Council instead. Either way it’s a bad deal for the people he represents. Not saying that they shouldn’t test the kits, just that Espero is clueless about his responsibilities.
You have a real burr in your saddle about Senator Espero, don’t you? You’ve complained about him doing his job before. Puzzling, since he’s such a good legislator.
So here’s the deal. Two bills have been introduced at the State Capitol – dealing with STATE LAWS – that would require Hawaii police forces to deal with these rape kits, since that obviously hasn’t been a priority for them, particularly here on O’ahu. The bills are NOT exclusive to Honolulu.
If you’d like to read the text of the bill in question, it’s at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2016/bills/SB2366_.htm. You also might want to look at SB2309. It’s history page is at http://capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2309&year=2016, and you can read the text by clicking on the big bill number in the upper left corner.
If you’d like to read testimony that’s been submitted to earlier hearings on the measure, it’s linked on the right side of the page at http://capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2366&year=2016.
If you’d like to contact Senator Espero’s office to thank him for his steady, years-long efforts, you can get contact information for his office at http://capitol.hawaii.gov/memberpage.aspx?member=espero&year=2016.
Best wishes.
Kits should be tested but at whose cost. Lab area and qualified staffing need to be updated to handle the load. The Police Lab serves the whole pacific region including outside Islands. State does not assist with any cost. Feds assist through Federal grants, training, which us why lab is a region resource. Staffing is also an issue, lab people are required to have a BS in science. Most have MS degrees. After gaining work experience, they move to the Federal government, other police departments, or private companies that pay better. Turn over is high in that field. It will always be a problem, getting good people to work in that field….it is not like TV.
Maui county just opened a small lab to serve their community, guess who paid, Maui county tax payers not state. Guess where they got lab people, HPD. Why, young people with college degrees in science can purchase a home, lab will eventually grow offering advancement, and Maui is booming.
Here’s a good reason the executive branch has had to make all these emergency proclamations talked about in the other story…the leg doing things that isn’t their responsibility. This is the work of the city/county councils. The legislature has their own things to take care of, and should be looking to complete those things prior to getting involved elsewhere.
“It would cost an estimated $2.3 million to test the 1,500 kits, Wayne Kimoto, forensic laboratory director for the Honolulu Police Department, told Espero in an email.”
What Wayne willfully failed to mention and as was mentioned in an earlier article on this subject, it would be far more cheaper and efficient to ship all the kits in compliance with “Chain of Custody” requirements to the mainland for cheaper. Article mentioned it would be about less than half the cost of doing it locally.
Happy to see we got a new explanation for this incompetence. First, the 1500 backlog is because of limited staff and funding. Then the explanation shifts to only 15 pending, because no one has requested the other 1500 be tested. “The laboratory at the Honolulu Police Department tests rape kits when requested by an investigator or prosecutor, Yu said.” Further on, ““Because of limited funding and understaffing, the department has had to prioritize which cases are worked on and which kits are tested,” Yu added. If you only test when requested, and only 15 are pending, why do you have to prioritize anything? My advice to Yu would be to drop the shovel before the hole gets any deeper.