CLEVELAND (AP) -- Police agencies across Ohio have sent more than 2,300 untested rape kits to a state crime lab for testing that could potentially help solve hundreds of sexual assault cases, some dating back decades.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer ( http://bit.ly/12XdICr ) reports its analysis of data from the Ohio attorney general's office indicates police departments statewide could face about 850 potential cases resulting from DNA matches when all currently submitted kits are tested.

Attorney General Mike DeWine encouraged Ohio's nearly 800 law enforcement agencies to clear their testable sexual assault evidence off shelves in December 2011 after media reports said many kits remained in storage.

Officials say some reasons older kits were not tested include costs, protocols limiting what was tested and a lack of understanding about the value of DNA evidence.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com