SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
What do you do when you don't have the funding to address a perpetual backlog of unanalyzed rape kits? Ask drivers to foot the bill when applying for a driver's license:
Across the country, there's a backlog of kits containing potential evidence of sexual assaults. Victim advocates say the situation threatens public safety. Lawmakers in dozens of states are pushing for funding, and in Texas, one state representative has offered an innovative solution.
Thousands of rape kits sit sealed and untested in forensics labs and law enforcement offices in Texas. What's missing is state and local funding to pay to analyze the evidence in many of those kits.
If state Rep. Victoria Neave has her way, residents could help chip in. When Texans go to the Department of Public Safety office to apply for a driver's license, they'd be asked if they'd like to help the state pay to test DNA evidence from sexual assault cases — in the same way they're asked if they want to donate to support veterans or organ donation.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @11:17PM (1 child)
We could donate to solve murders. If the donations don't happen, murders don't get solved.
We could donate to support SWAT team raids for pirated movies. We could donate to make sure people get speeding tickets. We could donate when the governor is corrupt and needs to be arrested. I wonder what would be most popular?
Better yet, people who don't want this stuff could donate too, and it counts against getting the stuff done. We could have bidding wars, which would be very profitable. It's empowerment of the people. Rapists can vote with their dollars.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 14 2017, @12:02AM
Evolution happens. Society is evolving from its dependence on violently imposed monopolies toward a system of mutually agreed upon contracts. You can see its beginnings in Texas.