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Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I never saw a DRE case lost. Ever.

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Originally posted by bendable:
is it true that some departments can not do the processing of the blood as they can not afford it ?

and the same with rape kits, ? no funds no evidence processing ?

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Originally posted by DaBigBR:

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Originally posted by smschulz:
How wonderful they have the time and energy to test bullets and cases but no time to test rape kits of women.

This is essentially fake news.

There was a huge expose on all of this in the last year or two and like most things, the "whole story" gets glossed over in the interest of sensationalism.

First of all, sexual assault kits in Iowa or ALL tested by the state crime lab. I am aware of no agency that has the resources, facilities, or personnel to do this on their own, so they all go to one place whether you are arrested in Davenport or Des Moines or Mount Ayr. The state crime lab is a very good facility and fairly well funded, but there is always going to be more work than there are people. There are also problems with retaining staff - this is true of most government run labs - it's hard to compete with the private sector. A lot of the tenured criminalists working in government labs are playing for the love of the game...they believe in the mission. You cannot overstate how important that is.

Second, when testing sexual assault kits, victims' wishes are important. A lot of victims have kits done because they are concerned about injury, infection, pregnancy, etc. Many do not want to have somebody prosecuted. Many do not know if they want somebody prosecuted. The kits are still completed and stored, but many are not tested because the victim does not want them tested. There is a major ethical dilemma if you test every kit and then potentially identify a suspect with multiple victims where maybe your strongest case is a victim that does not want prosecution. Victims decide how to proceed on these cases, and they should. So a lot of kits sit for that reason.

And then there's the question of what you're actually going to "get" out of a kit. In a large number of cases (the majority), the suspect is known to the victim. Sending the kit in to have it processed serves no real purpose in identifying the suspect, at least not inasmuch as their identity is unknown at the time of the exam. If a case is heading to prosecution, of course DNA confirmation would be important, but that DNA confirmation is not absolutely vital in cases where the parties are known to each other.

I also hate to open this can of worms, but I think there is a disconnect between terms like "rape" and "sexual assault" in peoples' minds and what these cases actually are, by and large. I am NOT saying that any of them are less significant, at all, and I cannot overstate that, but I think the public hears those terms and pictures a stranger in dark clothing pulling a woman into an alley and disappearing into the night. Cases like that make up such a small percentage of cases that you pretty much hear about every one.

Part of the response to the news stories that kicked all of this off was the development of a form, used statewide, where the victim states their wishes in writing when the kit is taken. There are options to have the kit processed and to state that they are seeking an investigation by LE and prosecution, an option stating that they want to the kit processed but are not requesting prosecution right now, and an option to basically store it and request no investigation. I can only speak for my agency and those around me when I say that these are filled out on every single kit, period. We have a good sexual assault response team that includes nurse examiners, advocates, other social organizations, and law enforcement. I virtually guarantee you something similar is in place in Davenport.

And finally, let's not pretend that gun crime including shootings, robberies, and murders is somehow expected to take a backseat. It's not like it's not serious...

So please, consider the facts and not just the news.