Duluth, St. Cloud and Anoka County Have Most Untested Rape Kits in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Duluth Police Department and the Anoka County Sheriff's Office are among the Minnesota law agencies storing the most rape kits used to collect evidence but never shipped for testing.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released the report Thursday. Reports say the Duluth Police Department topped the list, with 578 kits on the shelf. The Anoka County Sheriff's Office reported 495. The St. Cloud Police Department was third, with 306.

Minnesota lawmakers directed the BCA last spring to find out how many unprocessed kits are sitting at law enforcement agencies and why they weren't analyzed for DNA.

The number one reason agencies gave for not testing the kits is that the victim didn't want to pursue charges. Second was a category labeled "other."