AUSTIN, TEXAS — Authorities in Texas say they are no longer back-logging rape kits and can process them in about 60 days.
Hundreds of kits that date back years, and in some cases decades, have finally been processed and returned new DNA evidence.
Austin City Council released a memo Thursday, updating the status of the rape kit DNA kit backlog.
"To date, out of the 2,665 case submitted through the backlog, we've received about 35 percent of them with positive results," said Assistant Chief Eli Reyes.
That's about 930 kits where DNA was found.
The kits will be tested again and entered into CODIS, the nationwide DNA database.
But the memo leaves city council member Alison Alter with more questions.
"We were asking a lot of questions and hoping to have more detail than what was in the report. I'm hoping at the press conference they will provide more detail," said Alter.
Some of the 35% date back to the 1980s and 1990s.
The attorney for the sex assault victims suing the city released a statement saying, "This latest development further confirms what we've argued all along: that local law enforcement has failed to pursue sexual assault cases despite the availability of evidence."
Austin police say they are notifying victims of cold cases their rape kits came back positive for DNA and their case being re-opened.
But investigators are prioritizing those re-opened cases.
"I think the solvability factor is going to include if you have a known suspect , if you have something to compare it to, if you have a survivor who is cooperating with the investigation," said Reyes.
Austin police are asking victims of unsolved cases to call a special cold case hotline.
