KPBS Midday Edition

Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published September 13, 2016 at 7:57 AM PDT

This story was published more than 7 years ago.

Vials of evidence in a sexual assault case are labeled and sorted at the Houston Forensic Science Center, April 2, 2015.

Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego

Why Rape Kits Go Untested In San Diego GUEST: Kelly Davis, freelance journalist

In 2014, a state audit looked at the rape kit backlog for three California cities: Sacramento, Oakland and San Diego.

The audit found less than half of the kits were tested.

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Since that time, two of the three cities — Sacramento and Oakland — began a policy of testing all rape kits. San Diego has not.

According to Voice of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department believes testing all rape kit evidence is not the smartest or most efficient way to investigate rape cases.

SDPD has said it has about 2,400 rape kits that have not been sent to the crime lab to get analyzed.

Kelly Davis, a San Diego-based freelance journalist who wrote the story for Voice of San Diego, discusses how San Diego handles rape kits on Midday Edition on Tuesday.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

See stories by Marissa Cabrera