Governor Rick Scott of Florida recently signed a law that requires rape kits to be tested within 120 days of submission to a state crime lab and invests $10.7 million in Florida’s crime laboratories to eliminate Florida’s backlog of rape testing kits.
Florida’s DNA Labs International has pitched in to help eliminate the backlog and is directly working with law enforcement agencies testing rape kits.
“As citizens of Florida, we’re grateful that Governor Scott has enacted this legislation. We hope our efforts can lead to perpetrators being taken off the street and help provide the women of our community with a renewed sense of safety and peace knowing that they’ve been able to get justice. We want to give law enforcement personnel all the tools they need to keep Floridians safe,” said Allison Nunes, chief operating officer of DNA Labs International.
DNA Labs International is a private forensic DNA lab in Broward County, Florida specializing in forensic casework analysis using the latest technologies. These technologies include Y-STR analysis which is particularly helpful in sexual assault cases where typically the amount of female DNA would overpower any potential male DNA in a sample. A Y-STR analysis is done on the male-specific Y chromosome eliminating this concern.
In 2008 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA Pilot Project was initiated. They give preapproved participating law enforcement agencies, within their jurisdiction, the option to submit evidence directly to DNA Labs International for analysis. Any eligible DNA profiles generated from analysis is submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for review and possible upload into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Law enforcement agencies that need assistance with the backlog of kits can reach out to DNA Labs International by sending a message to Allison Nunes, allison@dnalabsinternational.com. For more information on DNA Labs International, visit DNA Labs International and follow them on Facebook and LinkedIn.
