Md. Fails To Get Fed. Funding For Untested Rape Kits

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There area reportedly 3,700 untested kits across the state, according to a state audit of police departments last year.

For the third year in a row, despite an application from one police department, no agency in the state will take part in a federal funding program to process untested rape kits, according to our media partner, The Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore County Police did apply all three years but their application was denied.

The Sun reports the department applied again this year for money to test evidence from decades-old sexual assault cases. However, the U.S. Justice Department announced $34 million of new grants this month, and no Maryland jurisdiction was named as part of the award.

The Justice Department says the department's application was incomplete, according to the summary forwarded to The Sun by the Baltimore County Police.

"The applicant has the capacity and expertise to test the 2,010 unsubmitted kits, since it already has the 'system' in place. However, the project design and implementation section needs to provide more details — for example, the goals and objectives."

The Sun reports that nearly all jurisdictions that have applied for the grants in the last three years have eventually received funds, according to the Justice Department's data.

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