Idaho State Police said it made progress processing and tracking sexual assault kits in 2020 despite COVID-related issues.
The state police for several years has been working to catch up on the backlog. On Wednesday, ISP released its 2020 sexual assault legislative report, which shows the number of kits collected “remained fairly constant’ since 2017, but the percentage of cases not investigated showed “a notable decrease,” ISP said.
“The kit tracking system is designed to build trust with survivors and provide critical information to policy and lawmakers. ISP’s role is to train and educate, process, and track these kits, which taken all together, means a more efficient and responsive criminal justice system,” said Matthew Gamette, director of ISP forensic services.
According to the 2020 report, there were 477 sexual assault kits collected throughout the year — compared to 454 in 2019. The report says the percentage of kits not tested due to a law enforcement decision was 19 percent in 2017 and was 7.8 percent in 2020.
