MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee city will receive more than a million dollars in grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice to finish processing untested rape kits.
The Commercial Appeal reports that Congressman Steve Cohen announced the $1.07 million grant to Memphis on Friday. As of August, the Memphis Police Department reported 479 kits still in storage, with another 2,813 awaiting testing at forensic laboratories. The department has processed and analyzed nearly three-quarters of a backlog that at its 2013 peak reached 12,000 kits.
The city received two grants worth a combined $3.9 million in 2015 to pay for rape kit testing.
Cohen has also amended the House appropriations package to add funding for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which would receive $49 million if the package is approved.