A bipartisan panel of Colorado lawmakers formally asked Wednesday for an audit of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation over its 500-plus-day wait to process sexual assault examination kits.
The request, approved unanimously by the Legislative Audit Committee, is the first step toward a deeper investigation of the agency’s forensic services division. The letter requesting the audit asks the state auditor to assess the cause of the backlog, evaluate the current process and make recommendations.
“When you see something like what appears to have happened in CBI, and with the processing of the rape kits, we have a responsibility to get to the bottom of it,” said Rep. William Lindstedt, the chair of the committee and one of the requesters of the audit. “… It’s completely unacceptable we are where we are with this issue.”
Lindstedt, a Broomfield Democrat, said the aim would be “to get victims justice in a timely manner.”
After the committee requests audits, the Office of the State Auditor typically conducts preliminary research to establish the scope of a potential audit. The committee then votes on whether to approve a full audit.
The wait time for CBI to process sexual assault forensic exams, commonly called rape kits, is now up to 529 days, according to a recently launched online dashboard. There are more than 1,400 people waiting for processing of their kits.
The scale of the backlog came into focus in January when a survivor of sexual assault testified to waiting more than 400 days for her exam results — a wait that has put the investigation into her case on hold and left her living “a real-life nightmare.”
The Department of Public Safety, which houses CBI, only acknowledged the backlog after the testimony raised the issue. Its turnaround goal for the kits is 90 days.
The audit is the latest demand for oversight of the agency following the backlog revelation and a scandal in which a former analyst, Yvonne “Missy” Woods, allegedly manipulated at least 1,000 DNA tests during a decades-long career.
Lawmakers earlier this month approved extra spending to address the problems — but only with new transparency requirements and a plan to reduce the backlog. Gov. Jared Polis created an oversight committee specifically for CBI’s forensic services in November. In January, CBI announced it hired an outside consultant to assess its operations.
“We’ve been collaborating with our legislative partners and welcome the opportunity to continue working together toward solutions,” CBI spokesperson Rob Low said in a statement. “We will cooperate with any state audit that the legislature initiates, and we’re also undergoing a self initiated independent review by a contracted vendor that will be complete this spring.”
Sen. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican who voted for the audit, said the request reflects a desire by lawmakers “to hold them accountable” for both the rape kit backlog and the testing scandal.
“We need to make sure they are are really serving the people of Colorado the way that that office is intended to,” Frizell said.
Survivors of sexual assault and people affected by the backlog are planning a town hall next week about the issue where members of the public are invited to ask questions. That event is set for 11 a.m. Monday in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Colorado Capitol, 200 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver.
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