Albuquerque police have launched a new effort to address the city's backlog of untested evidence kits from sexual assaults and rapes.
New Mexico's largest city has more than 3,000 untested kits, making up the bulk of the more than 5,400 at law enforcement agencies and evidence vaults around the state.
Additional funding will be used for the program, which involves hiring three investigators to evaluate the kits and testing those that could most likely help build criminal cases.
The backlog is a nationwide problem, and the state auditor's office announced earlier this year that it was looking into what practices led to processing delays in New Mexico.
The auditor's office plans to visit Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office next week. A community meeting also is scheduled for Monday in Albuquerque.
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