The California Attorney General’s Office was awarded $1.6 million from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Initiative to help eliminate backlogs of untested rape kits.

The California Department of Justice’s Rapid DNA Service Team will receive $1.6 million over two years to test sexual assault evidence kits.

The California Attorney General’s office is one of 32 agencies in 20 states to receive a grant.  The funding will support the Attorney General’s continued efforts to test kits submitted by local law enforcement agencies that have a backlog of untested kits.  The California Department of Justice currently assists 46 of the state’s 58 counties in DNA analysis of sexual assault kits.

“Evidence of sexual assault is too important to sit dormant for months while victims await justice,” said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. “This grant will allow us to use our Rapid DNA Service Team’s technology to assist more of our law enforcement partners across California in eliminating their sexual assault kit backlogs.”