Skip to content
Bench WatchClosing the gap between the courtroom and everyday life.

Need help now? Free, confidential help lines, 24/7. Get help

Issue tracker

Michigan's untested rape kits, by the numbers

The curved limestone front and glass dome of the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing
The Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing, home of the Michigan Supreme Court. (Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped))

Bench Watch Brief · What the data shows

Bench Watch logs the official numbers on Michigan's previously untested rape kits, including how many were found, tested and prosecuted, by date and by who reported them. The sources don't always agree, so we show each figure with its date and source, not as a trend.

10 entries · select a column to sort

Bench Watch Data

Get the data

Michigan's untested rape kits, by the numbers

You'll also get the free Bench Watch newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime. You must be 13 or older. See our privacy policy and terms.

Source
2009-08-17Kits found in Detroit police storage11,341, collected 1984–2009Wayne County ProsecutorSource
2009-11-01Kits counted in Detroit police storage11,303, revised to 11,219NIJ-funded research censusSource
2015-12-01Kits tested in the research sample1,595 tested; 785 DNA profiles eligible for CODIS; 455 CODIS hits; 127 serial sexual assaults identifiedNIJ-funded research reportSource
2016-01-28Untested kits found outside Wayne County1,819Attorney General's survey (Michigan Public)Source
2018-08-01Previously untested kits submitted statewide3,440Michigan State PoliceSource
2022-11-16Detroit kits testedAll 11,341; 239 convictions; 841 serial offendersWayne County Prosecutor (FOX 2)Source
2024-09-10Detroit convictions and serial offenders257 convictions; 853 suspected serial rapists in 39 statesCBS DetroitSource
2026-02-02Ingham County SAKI125 kits tested; 7 felony convictions; 63 cases closedAttorney General's reportSource
2026-02-02Kalamazoo County SAKI221 cases; 22 convictions; 2 acquittalsAttorney General's reportSource
2026-04-10Attorney General's SAKI counties, combinedMore than 600 cases; 55 convictions; 42 active investigationsAttorney GeneralSource

How we built this

We count figures published by prosecutors, the attorney general, the Michigan State Police or the National Institute of Justice-funded research on Detroit's kits, along with news reports quoting those offices. Each row links to its source.

The numbers differ because offices count at different times and in different ways (kits found vs. kits tested, cases vs. kits, convictions as of different dates). We show each figure as reported rather than combine them.

We never name or identify a survivor.