The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Fort Worth police run their own lab but have five vacancies and only one staffer who can complete a DNA test on their own, leading to hundreds of untested rape kitsThe Fort Worth Police Department has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,has learned, raising serious questions about how the department handles the cases and how delays could impact victims.
Fort Worth appears to be the only police department in Texas that runs its own forensic biology lab. So how does a department that can do its own testing miss deadlines hundreds of times? Fort Worth police turned down requests fromthe police department is outsourcing lab work because they can't test all of the rape cases on their own. Wagner said, like many other labs across the state, Fort Worth has struggled to hire forensic scientists who can conduct DNA testing.
"The funding is there. There is no excuse for a rape kit to not be timely submitted and tested," Neave Criado said. When asked if a victim should have to beg the police department to adhere to state law and test their rape kit, Wagner said the test will be done regardless, even if it's done a little later in the backlog.
"We care about our victims. We care about everybody. We are hampered by the tools that we're being given or not given," Wagner said.Godfrey said the delay in testing her kit made her feel like the police didn't care about her and that it shattered the trust she had in the justice system.
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Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
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Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Read more »
Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Read more »
Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Read more »
Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Read more »
Woefully understaffed, Fort Worth's rape kit backlog climbs to more than 900The police department in Fort Worth, Texas, has failed hundreds of times to test sexual assault evidence kits in the amount of time required by state law,…
Read more »