Courtesy of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Since authorities began working to clear the more than 11,000 untested rape kits found in a Detroit police storage locker six years ago, they’ve identified nearly 2,500 suspects—including 477 serial rapists. While Wayne County has been ending one of the worst backlogs in the country, tens of thousands of untested kits remain sitting in storage in other jurisdictions. In Virginia, a recent audit turned up more than 2,000. But two grants announced yesterday should go a long way toward changing that.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. awarded $38 million in grants—$1.4 million of which will be given to Virginia’s Office of the Attorney General—to test backlogged kits (the funds are coming from settlements with international banks that violated U.S. sanctions.) They will complement the $41 million awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice’s new Sexual Assault Kit Initiative program. Combined, the funds will be used to test an estimated 70,000 kits.

The Commonwealth will test 2,034 previously untested Physical Evidence Recovery Kits, or PERKs, from the 65 law enforcement agencies holding five or more kits. According to a 2014 audit, the Fairfax County Police Department had the highest backlog in the state, with nearly 350 untested kits. The Alexandria and Arlington police departments had 91 and 85, respectively.

“We know that sexual violence is a serial crime and perpetrators are often repeat offenders. By analyzing these kits we can build a stronger database, connect the dots on these terrible crimes, and put dangerous predators away,” Attorney General Mark R. Herring said. “Clearing out this backlog will also help show survivors that the Commonwealth is committed to helping them seek justice as part of their healing process.”

Once the kits are tested, profiles can then be searched against the Virginia and national DNA data banks, according to Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran.

Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and advocate and Law and Order actress Mariska Hargitay joined Vance Jr. in announcing the grants.

“Rape kits are an essential tool in modern crime fighting—not only for the victim, but, for the entire community. Studies show we solve up to 50 percent of previously unsolved rapes when these kits are tested. When we solve these cases, we get rapists off the streets,” said Biden. “For most survivors, seeing their rapists brought to justice, and knowing that they will not return, brings peace of mind and a sense of closure.”