In Bexar County, a troubling tend has emerged at the crime lab. According to FOX San Antonio, the facility is grappling with an alarming backlog of 284 sexual assault kits that have exceeded the Texas-mandated 90-day testing deadline. This adds a strain to a system already under pressure to provide timely evidence for criminal prosecutions.
Lab director Orin Dym acknowledged the gravity of the situation.
"All sexual assault kits must be submitted to crime labs, and that’s pretty much national standard, and standard here in Texas, so you start to see an increases in sexual assault cases coming in," Dym said in an interview obtained by FOX San Antonio. The root of the problem, as Dym detailed, started when the public became conscious of the sexual assault kits gathering dust untested. He elaborated, "For several years, the story of unsubmitted sexual assault kits continually came down to, 'investigators shouldn’t be making decisions about what needs to be analyzed, it should all go to the lab.'" This philosophy, however admirable in its intent to ensure thorough investigation, has seemingly contributed to the current predicament.
The crime lab's workload was further compounded by a 2019 state law that, coinciding with Dym's assuming of the director role, also legalized hemp, thereby necessitating more laborious drug testing. Dym pulls back the curtain on the multifaceted challenges the lab faces, noting that DNA is a tool that has become integral across a spectrum of serious crimes, not merely sexual assault cases. "They’re working homicides, they’re working assaults, they’re working burglaries, robberies, car jackings - so you have not just sexual assault cases, but a massive influx of evidence where DNA evidence is now critical to solving these cases," Dym told FOX San Antonio.
In response to the backlog, Dym and his team at the lab are redoubling efforts to prioritize sexual assault and homicide cases. However, this shift in focus means other crimes might experience delays. Dym admitted, "Instead of sexual assault kits being backlogged, some other cases being backlogged." Measures have been taken, including the integration of robotics into their processes, which has slashed the backlog of 800 rape kits by half, as Dym highlighted in the investigation. The director expressed confidence that with trained analysts joining the team, significant strides will be made in alleviating the logjam – something the community-connected lab staff take personally. "I think we have an amazing team and they're doing terrific work," Dym optimistically concluded in his statement to FOX San Antonio.
