$1.17M to help Nev. erase rape kit backlog
By Sandra Chereb, Las Vegas Review-Journal
CARSON CITY — A panel of lawmakers Thursday accepted a $1.17 million federal grant to continue to chip away at the backlog of thousands of untested rape kits in Nevada.
The Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee authorized the use of the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative funding for the attorney general’s office and local police agencies to continue the effort, even as some lawmakers expressed frustration at the pace of the effort.
So far, the state has received nearly $5 million in grants and settlement funds earmarked for the endeavor statewide. That funding is in addition to a separate $2 million grant received by Southern Nevada law enforcement for rape kit testing.