(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that DNA testing conducted as part of the Attorney General's Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative has now resulted in nearly 2,000 hits in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
As of November 1, 2014, a total of 1,982 DNA profiles extracted from previously untested rape kits have matched DNA profiles already in the CODIS database.
"This year, we've had an average of around 115 CODIS hits per month associated with this initiative, so we anticipate that we will pass that 2,000 mark any day now," said Attorney General DeWine. "Every time evidence associated with one of these kits results in a DNA hit, there is a possibility that another attacker could be brought to justice."
So far, BCI has tested 5,325 kits as part of the SAK Testing Initiative.
Once a DNA match is made in the CODIS database, the investigative lead information associated with the DNA is returned to the investigating law enforcement agency for follow-up. In Cuyahoga County, more than 200 people have been indicted as a result of the DNA testing.
Attorney General DeWine launched the initiative after learning that dozens of law enforcement agencies across the state were in possession of rape kits, some of which were decades old, that had never been sent to a DNA lab for testing. Attorney General DeWine then made an open call to law enforcement to send their kits to BCI for DNA testing free of charge. As of the first of November, 146 law enforcement agencies have submitted a total of 8,987 kits.
To handle the influx of the thousands of kits, Attorney General DeWine hired ten additional forensic scientists to ensure the kits' timely analysis without slowing down the testing of kits associated with recent crimes. Since Attorney General DeWine took office in 2011, BCI has tested an additional 6,052 rape kits as part of their normal casework.
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Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840