LANSING, MI (AP)-- A state commission is urging that Michigan establish and fund an electronic tracking system to ensure sexual assault evidence kits are processed without delay.
The recommendation made Wednesday stems from a review by the Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking and Reporting Commission. The board was created in 2015 after the discovery of 11,000 untested rape kits in storage at the Detroit Police Department.
Legislation is recommended to require a uniform statewide tracking system. Medical providers, law enforcement agencies and laboratories would have to enter data.
First Lady Sue Snyder, who has targeted campus sex assaults, says improving the processing and review of evidence is "critically important in holding offenders accountable."
The commission also outlined plans to annually audit whether agencies are meeting legal deadlines to analyze kits.
