# I pit whoever the hell was supposed to be keeping track of rape kits in Detroit. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733 "2012-08-26T18:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/21 "2012-08-27T21:28:46Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > v-place? What are you fucking five years old? Maybe they should check her v-place and compare it to a mans p-place and see if they have cooties. The poster you’re responding to is making a joke about Todd Akin and his views towards women. Good job looking like a dick AND getting whooshed, all at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/22 "2012-08-27T21:47:44Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’m not sure its really that surprising. Processing rape kits is expensive, and doesn’t necessarily give cops any new information unless they have a suspect or other rape kit to compare it to. Except that from the kits they’ve tested so far, they’ve come up with 21 serial rapists (IIRC). Since they’ve only done a very small number of them, there may be a larger problem that could be identified and removed if they’d only test the kits. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/23 "2012-08-27T22:02:05Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Except that from the kits they’ve tested so far, they’ve come up with 21 serial rapists (IIRC) Except they haven’t come up with them. They just know they exist, and are linked to particular rapes. And it appears that in some, if not all cases, they were already aware of the serial rapists. Which isn’t to say that the information is useless. I’m sure that they linked some rapes to particular serial rapists, which will hopefully enable further convictions. But with limited resources and a lot of crime, I don’t think its particularly shocking that the city of detroit hasn’t spent the money to analyse rape kits without a specific expectation of matching it to a suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/24 "2012-08-27T22:17:33Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Except that from the kits they’ve tested so far, they’ve come up with 21 serial rapists (IIRC). > > Since they’ve only done a very small number of them, there may be a larger problem that could be identified and removed if they’d only test the kits. But we can’t assume the first six hundred kits tested were typical. It’s likely they prioritized the ones they thought had the most chance of producing useful information. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/25 "2012-08-28T05:58:01Z")
Uh…what’s a rape kit? ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/26 "2012-08-28T06:13:56Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Uh..what’s a rape kit? [Here you go.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_kit) ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/27 "2012-08-28T13:11:10Z")
[Here](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/david-albo-virginia-lawmaker-no-sex-transvaginal-ultrasound_n_1300404.html) was the other target of my ire, for those unsure. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/28 "2012-08-28T15:10:21Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’m not sure its really that surprising. Processing rape kits is expensive, and doesn’t necessarily give cops any new information unless they have a suspect or other rape kit to compare it to. And in a place like Detroit, where the city isn’t necessarily flush with cash, I imagine resources only become available for running the test if there’s a good chance it will come back as a match on something. > > But no one wants to throw them out, since some new information might come up that allows the cops to link it to another case. So they get tossed in a box in a locker somewhere, and sit. > > I don’t think its the case that these kits were all “supposed” to be processed, and that someone was sitting around somewhere waiting on them, and for some reason it just never got done. Our lab won’t process unless there is a suspect to compare to. It is very rare that they will do a DNA profile then try to blindly match it with the database. So the evidence sits in the evidence room. This is not CSI. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/29 "2012-08-28T16:01:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Our lab won’t process unless there is a suspect to compare to. It is very rare that they will do a DNA profile then try to blindly match it with the database. So the evidence sits in the evidence room. This is not CSI. Thanks. That’s what I was picturing. I imagine one of the reasons this is coming up now is that the number of rapes is falling while (I assume) the price of processing rape kits is decreasing. Presumably at some point, it will start becoming feasible to just process everything and have a DNA database of unsolved rapes that investigators can go “fishing” in to link cases togeather. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/30 "2012-08-28T17:06:47Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I imagine one of the reasons this is coming up now is that the number of rapes is falling while (I assume) the price of processing rape kits is decreasing. Presumably at some point, it will start becoming feasible to just process everything and have a DNA database of unsolved rapes that investigators can go “fishing” in to link cases togeather. That’s the policy in New York. There’s a government run lab that conducts the test so they’re not being sent out to private labs and billed individually. As a result, the policy is that every rape kit gets tested. As a cross reference, every person who is imprisoned in New York has to submit to a DNA test. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/31 "2012-08-29T17:47:39Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Our lab won’t process unless there is a suspect to compare to. It is very rare that they will do a DNA profile then try to blindly match it with the database. So the evidence sits in the evidence room. This is not CSI. Why is that exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/32 "2012-08-29T18:38:00Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/33 "2012-08-29T19:42:10Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Why is that exactly? Money. Time. Lab backlogs. Small chance of success. I’ve never had to push it. There is a proceedure to get it put through the system in the case of serious crimes but it is not automatic. Lab reports usually come back with a blurb like, “DNA was found to be present in sample. Testing will not proceed until a buccal swab is submitted for comparision.” In New Jersey DNA is taken after conviction not when they go to jail. I have a guy sitting in county right now and I’m waiting for the prosecutor to go in front of a judge to get an order compelling a DNA sample. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/34 "2012-08-30T16:46:26Z")
> [@grude](#): > > It is easy to get angry at the low level workers dealing with these kits, but you should really be angry at the higher ups who refuse to properly fund the programs. +1. Oh, let’s not be timid. +100. Republicans are notorious for sabotaging programs to make government workers look bad … then using that as excuse to slash the programs ever more. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733/35 "2012-08-30T22:37:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Money. Time. Lab backlogs. Small chance of success. I’ve never had to push it. There is a proceedure to get it put through the system in the case of serious crimes but it is not automatic. Lab reports usually come back with a blurb like, “DNA was found to be present in sample. Testing will not proceed until a buccal swab is submitted for comparision.” > > In New Jersey DNA is taken after conviction not when they go to jail. I have a guy sitting in county right now and I’m waiting for the prosecutor to go in front of a judge to get an order compelling a DNA sample. Which is _why_ we have to raise taxes on the poor and middle-class, so that we can properly fund our own rape investigations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-the-hell-was-supposed-to-be-keeping-track-of-rape-kits-in-detroit/632733.md?page=1)