Sexual assault survivors in the Bronx and Brooklyn are being told to wait months, and in some cases up to a year, for the DNA results locked inside their rape kits. That is the finding at the center of a new investigation into processing delays in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
According to a FOX 5 New York investigation, rape kit processing times have surged in the Bronx and Brooklyn, with reporter Kelly Kennedy detailing how delays have skyrocketed specifically in those boroughs. The investigation found that processing times in the Bronx and Brooklyn now stretch into months, and that for some survivors, the wait for critical DNA test results can drag on for up to a year.
That kind of delay collides directly with what a rape kit is supposed to do in the first place. Medical professionals use the kits to collect DNA and other evidence during the physical examination of an alleged victim, according to a New York State Office of the State Comptroller audit, and the kits may produce DNA profiles that can help link violent crimes and known offenders.
What State Rules Already Require
New York does have oversight mechanisms on the books meant to keep evidence kits moving. Forensic laboratories in the state are required to report the number of sexual offense assault kits they receive during each quarter, per the New York State criminaljustice.ny.gov Sexual Offense Evidence Kit Inventory Report. The report covers quarterly receipts, but does not include the current backlog or turnaround figures for any specific lab.
The state has also moved in recent years to modernize how kits are tracked. Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation in 2022 establishing a Statewide Rape Kit Tracking System, the governor's office announced. A separate announcement from the governor's office noted the opening of a state facility built specifically to store sexual offense evidence collection kits and other evidence items.
Long-Term Storage, But Unclear Turnaround
Once collected, kits are retained. The question of whether a victim reports the incident to law enforcement is separate from storage, and the 2020 audit cited above does not address it.
None of the state-level materials reviewed establish whether the newer tracking system is fully operational or whether it has done anything yet to shorten the waits described in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The underlying data behind the surge, including exact kit counts, which agencies or labs are behind on processing, and whether the months- and year-long waits represent averages or outlier cases, was not part of the record made available.
What is documented is the human stakes: survivors who submit to an invasive examination in hopes that DNA evidence will support their case, only to face an uncertain and, in some instances, yearlong wait to find out what that evidence shows.
