Fort Worth police have cleared the backlog of over 900 rape kits
Fort Worth police have cleared a massive backlog of rape kits, and put in place new policies to restore public trust.
That was the message from Police Chief Neil Noakes, who spoke at a Fort Worth City Council meeting on Tuesday.
“It is a battle we should have never had to fight,” Noakes said.
In October 2024, an investigation by KXAS Channel 5 uncovered the city had a backlog of 969 rape kits.
Noakes told the council Tuesday that 898 of those kits had been tested, but not entered into a federal database as required by law. An additional 190 kits were mailed to outside lab for testing, but also had not been entered into the database, he said.
The biggest bottleneck was under-staffing. The city budgeted for seven forensic scientists, but as of October 2024 only two of those positions were filled.
Over the last six months, the city has filled four of those five open positions, and are working to make sure the lab is fully staffed, Noakes said.
Fort Worth partnered with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety to help draw down the backlog.
DPS helped out by taking on 50 of the backlogged cases, and the medical examiner’s office chipped in by testing any new kits submitted to the city’s crime lab.
This allowed the police department to focus exclusively on drawing down the backlog, Noakes said.
The department also received extra funding from the federal government and the city’s crime control and prevention district to help address the backlog.
Police detectives also reached out to victims whose kits had been caught up in the backlog in an effort to restore trust, Noakes said.
Going forward, detectives will be required to reach out if there are any delays in testing a rape kit, he said.
The thing that hurt the most was how the backlog affected victims of sexual assault and their families, Noakes said.
He said he hoped that clearing the backlog would help restore some of that trust and let victims know that the Police Department is committed to seeking justice for these crimes.
Council members praised Noakes for his work to clear the backlog.
Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens said when a reporter called her about the backlog in 2024, she responded by saying Noakes would take care of it.
“I had the confidence that you would do what it takes to get it done, and that message was clearly communicated,” she said.
District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck thanked Noakes for proactively communicating with victims.
“It was a bad day for Fort Worth when we got this news, so thank you for making us proud of our city again,” she said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM.
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