PHOENIX (AZ Family) — The Phoenix Police Department said it is making progress on stockpiling the rape kit after public outcry prompted city leaders to approve $3.4 million in additional funding to outsource them to external laboratories.

At the end of July 2023, they had 835 untested kits. As of October 31, the backlog has dropped to 515 rape kits. However, unlike last year, they explained that 355 of these kits were already being tested by external laboratories.

These figures also include the testing of 675 new kits that have come in over the past year.

Seven years later, the trauma of being sexually assaulted still haunts Kate.

“I don’t know why this hits me today,” she said.

Like Kate, hundreds of survivors have put their cases on hold, their lives in limbo, while they wait for their rape cases to be processed.

Sexual assault is an incredibly personal, violent crime. Unlike other crime victims, coming forward often means undergoing an invasive, emotionally charged examination.

“When you go to make a rape kit and you go to the hospital, a lot of times you have to wait for an on-call paralegal to come,” she explained.

Kate said it took eight hours, waiting for the nurse, then the actual test – her clothes took her. Her body was treated as evidence.

“You tell the coroner exactly what happened to you, in great detail. It was something I personally wasn’t ready to do and I like ready to do at the time,” she said.

What followed was even harder.

“It took over a year and a half for it to be tested the first time, and there were subsequent rounds of testing that took months. So the whole process took about two years,” she said.

Kate’s attack took place in Tucson, but the Arizona family discovered that survivors in metro Phoenix face similar obstacles.

Arizona Family Investigates” Amy Cutler asked police what they would say to survivors who feel their cases aren’t getting the attention and resources they deserve.

“I have that perception when a stock 15 months ago when it was 835, we understand that. We understand it was an issue we needed to address,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Rob Scherer.

Scherer says staffing remains an issue. Eight of the 28 positions in their lab’s forensic DNA section remain vacant. Finding the right people, he says, will take time.

“The hiring process is over six months; the training process is 24 to 30 months. You’re talking potentially three years from that recruiting element to realizing the benefit in that person’s lab,” explained Scherer.

The Arizona family shared the data with Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violencewho advocates for survivors like Kate.

“I’m delighted that some of the kits have been tested. Any progress is good progress, however, it is not enough,” responded Jenna Panas, CEO of the nonprofit organization.

Panas argues Phoenix police could do more; they are the only law enforcement agency in the state that does not use Track kit.

The program uses a barcode to track exactly where a rape kit is, and survivors can get this information in real time.

“That’s been one of the most frustrating things about it,” Kate said, saying it was a problem for her.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s 2023 report, 229 survivors logged into the Track Kit system 1,200 times to see the progress of their kit.

The state pays for it, so it would be free for the city of Phoenix.

“We have our own process. I get it, I get it, I get the idea of ​​wanting to see where your kit is at all times,” Sgt. Scherer said. “We have a process where we contact our detectives, and you know, we’re up to that element of communication, legally.”

Phoenix police are creating their own tracking program that provides updates for all crime victims, including information on rape kits.

But Panas has concerns, sharing emails with Familia Arizona that show police said his program will be online this fall and then in January. So Arizona’s Family asked when it would finally be released.

“I don’t have a time frame for it. They just launched SPIDR Tech,” the department said.

Kate’s ordeal eventually led her to earn a doctorate in public health. Her thesis focused on the experiences of survivors of sexual assault.

He was never able to get justice. “Somehow, not through the criminal system, that didn’t work out well for me,” Kate explained.

Kate started a nonprofit called The survivors rise to help survivors in the years after an attack. Her research helped identify the need and she is working to fill it.

Phoenix police said they outsourced another hundred kits in November and anticipate the backlog will be cleared in the coming months.

But it is one thing for them to be tested; it’s another for the results to come back and the police to act on them. Many survivors say a problem remains.

See a spelling or grammar mistake in our story? Please click here to report it.

Have a breaking news photo or video? Send with us here with a brief description.

Got a story you want us to investigate? Tell us about it by by contacting us.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.