Citation

Sudkamp L, Gamette M, Wickenheiser R, Arnone B, Forry E, Gamette M, Jackson L, Dyas RC, Burdett L, Houlihan B, McNair J, Nye J, O'Neill S, Scanlan T, Tessarolo T, Westring C, Byrd J, Robertson R. Forensic Sci. Int. Synergy 2020; 2: 349-350.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.fsisyn.2019.12.001

PMID

33385133

Abstract

In response to the July 18, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Promoting Justice for Victims of Crime: Examining the Federal Investment in DNA Analysis, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) launched a nation-wide sexual assault kit survey of all DNA laboratories in the United States submitting data into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The intent of the survey was to identify all the unprocessed sexual assault evidence kits (SAEKs) in the nation's DNA laboratories' possession and the resources needed to process them. Further, whether by official audit or conversation with their law enforcement agencies, ASCLD's goal was to determine what the laboratories knew about their jurisdiction's unsubmitted sexual assault evidence kits. SAEKs in many jurisdictions are still in the possession of law enforcement or other entities and have never been submitted to a forensic science lab for processing, nor are the numbers of these unsubmitted kits readily obtained or estimated. For the purpose of this discussion, these kits with delayed submissions will be termed "latent" kits to differentiate them from SAEKs submitted to the lab in a timelier manner but considered "backlogged" as they await analysis.

The ASCLD Sexual Assault Kit Task Group and ASCLD Advocacy Committee distributed the survey and collaborated with ASCLD member laboratories to increase the response rate. Overall, 79% of DNA CODIS Laboratories from the United States and Puerto Rico responded to the survey. While the data is reported in aggregate, not all laboratories chose to report data to ASCLD. Data from some states are not complete, but responses do include laboratories from every state in the country with one exception. Traditionally, estimates of latent kits by law enforcement agencies are historically very low, with much higher numbers of SAEKs reported once legislation mandates hand counts...

Language: en