Bill Aims to Speed up Rape Kit Testing in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A bill South Dakota lawmakers passed this year aims to reduce the time it takes laboratories to test rape kits.

With some sexual assault victims waiting as long as half a year for their kits to be analyzed, lawmakers mandated lab analysis be done in 90 days.

State Rep. Lynne DiSanto tells the Rapid City Journal the law lets victims know that the state cares about them.

The End the Backlog program run by the Joyful Heart Foundation says testing backlogs are a problem nationwide, and that a dozen states have recently passed laws addressing the issue. Policy director Isle Knecht says South Dakota also needs to work on tracking the status of kits and notifying victims of results.

DiSanto says the new law is just the first step.

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