KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A national rape victim advocacy group says Kansas City has 1,324 untested rape kits.
The nonprofit Joyful Heart Foundation released information Tuesday about testing backlogs in five cities. It says it hopes the cities will "take aggressive and comprehensive steps toward rape kit reform."
Kansas City police said in a written statement that priority is given to testing the kits of people who want their cases prosecuted. The statement says around half of the untested kits belong to people who aren't ready to go to court, although police hang onto the evidence in case the reluctant victims change their minds.
Police say other reasons for not testing evidence include when prosecutors decide charges aren't warranted, the suspect agrees to enter a plea or the assault occurred outside the city's jurisdiction.