Petition to Unshelve Rape Kits

To:  U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney

Statistics surrounding rape in America are still as disturbing as ever. On January 27, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that someone in America is sexually assaulted every two minutes, 72% of assaults are never reported, and 19 out of 20 rapists will never serve time. For the victims who come forward to hospitals and police, evidence is gathered and filed into what is called a ‘rape kit’. But as ABC News.com pointed out on January 28, 2002, there are an estimated half a million unanalyzed rape kits nationwide that sit, unprocessed, on the shelves of police departments across the country. Experts speculate that if these kits were to be processed, tens of thousands of suspects could be identified.

By signing this petition, individuals will show support for government programs such as "The Debbie Smith Bill" that promote the national standardization of rape kits, training programs for hospitals and police officials on creating rape kits, and the funding of DNA testing labs that will process evidence in the kits to convict those guilty of committing rape.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Petition to Unshelve Rape Kits Petition to U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney was created by individuals who are concerned about unanalyzed rape kits and written by Stephanie Patterson.  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. The petition scripts are created by Mike Wheeler at Artifice, Inc.  For Technical Support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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