Lawmakers in Washington have introduced a bill that would have a bar code for each rape kit and allow victims to electronically track the progress of the rape kit testing. Approximately 6000 rape kits had gone untested in Washington state, and this bill aims to unsure that such a backlog does not occur again. Many jurisdictions would not test a rape kit if the attacker was known to the victim or if the suspect confessed to a crime. Neglecting to test the rape kits in these cases sometimes prevents suspects’ DNA from being entered in law enforcement databases so that they may be matched in connected cases. This bill would require all agencies that handle rape kits to comply with electronic tracking by 2018.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article66061027.html