Fort Worth's ongoing struggle with its backlog of sexual assault kits was highlighted in a recent City Council Work Session where the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) briefed council members on the lab's status and testing progress. While the lab has successfully tested 779 kits, a bottleneck in entering these results in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) remains the challenge, not the testing itself, the department is currently facing a shortage of certified personnel to tackle this crucial final steps, according to a report by the City of Fort Worth.
"This is a completely unacceptable situation we're in right now. We understand the urgency of correcting this problem and setting things right going forward so we never have to come across a situation like this again. We are looking at every single option available," Police Chief Neil Noakes conceded in a statement, as per the City of Fort Worth. However, the process is making strides as 190 kits have been outsourced for testing, with results awaited from third-party vendors, highlighting the procedural challenges posed by understaffing within the Crime Lab's Biology Unit.
Under Texas law, there's a stringent protocol requiring law enforcement to submit evidence within 30 days of its receipt, and the FWPD has adhered to this procedure, regularly reporting to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) on any lapses, assuring they are compliant with laws intended to expedite justice for victims. The FWPD, buoyed by a substantial federal grant of $686,000, is in the process of hiring additional vendors like DNA International and BODE to aid in the clearance of the backlog.
Efforts to improve the situation include the assignment of oversight responsibilities for the Crime Lab to the City Manager's Office, the Office of the Police Oversight Monitor, and the upper echelons of FWPD including Assistant Chief David Carabajal and Chief Neil Noakes; FWPD is also actively recruiting for Forensic Scientists roles that will help process kits internally, maintaining higher levels of control and standards of evidence preservation, as well as expediting communication with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, according to the City of Fort Worth.
