TBI reports reduction in sexual assault test times
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reporting a reduction in sexual assault test times.
The TBI says that the crime lab is returning test results to local law enforcement in 22.7 weeks on average, or just under six months, when back in August it was 45.4 weeks, just over 11 months.
The TBI says that Sen. London Lamar sponsored the law requiring the TBI to generate this quarterly report on sexual assault test times.
They say that Lamar filed legislation to fix the issue of 11-month-long test times following the murder of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old Memphis mother who was kidnapped and murdered last year.
The TBI reports that the accused killer was matched to a DNA test from a sexual assault that occurred a year earlier but was not processed in time for police to remove the convicted felon from the community.
“We filed this legislation because victims of sexual assault deserve transparency and accountability from the state and an 11-month wait time for DNA test results is an unacceptable threat to public safety,” Lamar said. “A six-month turn around time is still not where we need to be, but the TBI is making clear progress.
SEE ALSO: TBI outsources sexual assault kits to reduce turnaround time
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