Backlog of nearly 900 unprocessed rape kits cleared by Fort Worth police

Tuesday at 6 p.m.: 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates senior reporter Scott Friedman talks with Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes about what the police department will do to prevent another backlog and what it learned from responding to the crisis.

Fort Worth police say they've cleared a backlog of hundreds of sexual assault evidence kits that sat on shelves while leaving victims waiting for answers.

In our series Justice Shelved, 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates reported in October 2024 that Fort Worth police failed to follow state law for processing sexual assault evidence kits more than 900 times. The report led to a swift response from Fort Worth City Council members who expressed outrage and demanded changes.

온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates revealed the troubling truth about how Fort Worth police handled sex assault evidence. Records we obtained showed about 900 rape kits -- which can provide critical DNA evidence -- were not processed in 90 days as state law required.

Some were months or even years overdue.

However, on Tuesday, Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes told the city council that the problem uncovered by 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates had been addressed.

"We've completely eliminated the backlog, and we are in 100% compliance," Noakes said. "This is something that can never be missed again. This is something we have to take care of every single day going forward."

Noakes explained to council members that the backlog was largely due to a lack of staff.

The city's crime lab had five vacant DNA analyst positions. After our investigation revealed gaps, police raced to fill those vacant jobs. They increased pay for lab staff and sent evidence kits to other agencies to help the city get caught up.

"This is definitely worth celebrating and to carefully communicate to the victims and their family members that we're listening, we're doing things differently because of the problem that we were made aware of," said Mayor Mattie Parker on Tuesday.

In a previous interview, Noakes told 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates the department also implemented policy changes to make sure sex assault victims are immediately informed if there are any evidence processing delays.

"We automatically reach out. It's not a maybe, we will. It's a, 'You shall reach out and talk to this victim to make sure they stay informed,'" Noakes said.

Latrice Godfrey, whose evidence sat on a shelf for months, told 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates recently she appreciated how Noakes worked quickly to clear the backlog. But she wonders if it could happen again.

"What happens when the veil goes back up? And we move past this story and we're on to the next story. Is this going to happen again? And what is it that you guys are going to do to prevent it?" Godfrey said.

Noakes, who is set to retire in the coming weeks and will be stepping aside, said city leaders will continue working to prevent another backlog from occurring.

"We have a mayor and city council who are going to be watching. They're going to be making sure we do what we need to do," Noakes said.

In his converation with 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates, Noakes reflected on what he learned about the department as he managed the rape kit crisis.

"This situation we're talking about right now is one I wish we'd never had to deal with," Noakes said. "But seeing how people rallied and made this work, again, it shows me just how incredible this department is."

The City Council thanked Noakes for handling the crisis and said that while the backlog was a "dark day for the city," the chief's efforts to address the problem have made the city proud again.

The mayor also noted that recruiting and retaining forensic scientists at crime labs is a nationwide challenge and that the city is committed to doing whatever it takes to keep top-notch scientists in those jobs so that evidence is never left on shelves again.