More cases will be solved’ now that Virginia has eliminated its rape kit backlog, VCU expert says

July 14, 2020

Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced Wednesday that Virginia’s 2,665 previously untested rape kits — including kits that had gone untested for decades — have been tested, making Virginia just the seventh state to eliminate its rape kit backlog. Tracey Dawson Cruz, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Forensic Science in the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, is an expert in forensic DNA analysis and has worked on innovations to speed up the processing of sexual assault DNA evidence.

“This is a pivotal moment for the Virginia [Department of Forensic Science] crime lab and for sexual assault victims all across the state.”

https://news.vcu.edu/article/More_cases_will_be_solved_now_that_Virginia_has_eliminated_its