New Mexico state officials say some 5,000 untested rape kits are in state warehouses and crime labs, and it could take roughly five years to work through the backlog.
New Mexico Public Safety Secretary Gregory Fouratt told lawmakers Monday that about 75 percent of the kits that haven't been tested stem from cases under the jurisdictions of the Bernalillo County sheriff and Albuquerque police.
John Krebsbach, the crime lab director for Albuquerque police, added that some of the cases in the department's backlog date back to the late 1980s — a time when protocal would have called for many of the rape kits to be discarded.
Addressing the state backlog could cost about $8 million over five years.
New Mexico is among numerous states attempting to address how to decrease the number of untested kits.
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