Tennessee's long rape kit processing times cut in half after jogger's 2022 killing exposed delays
Tennessee officials say it now takes less than half the time it took to process rape kits in August 2022
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's lead investigative agency says it now takes less than half the time it took to process rape kits in August 2022, not long before the high-profile killing of a jogger shone a light on the long delays and prompted a funding boost.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch discussed the improvements during a budget hearing in front of Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday. He pointed to the most recent quarterly report, which shows the average turnaround time to process a rape kit this August was 19.6 weeks, compared to 45.4 weeks last August. He said the average time is now at about 18 weeks.
The state’s turnaround times for sexual assault kits drew heavy scrutiny after the high-profile killing of teacher Eliza Fletcher in September 2022. The man charged with killing Fletcher was charged in a 2021 rape of a different woman shortly afterward, when the rape kit from that case was finally processed.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had attributed its long delays to staffing woes and low pay.
