Citation

Campbell R, Pierce SJ, Sharma DB, Shaw J, Feeney H, Nye J, Schelling K, Fehler-Cabral G. J. Forensic Sci. 2016; 62(1): 213-222.

Affiliation

Harder+Company Community Research, Los Angeles, CA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13251

PMID

27885653

Abstract

A growing number of U.S. cities have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police property facilities. Testing older kits and maintaining current case work will be challenging for forensic laboratories, creating a need for more efficient testing methods.

METHODS: We evaluated selective degradation methods for DNA extraction using actual case work from a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs in Detroit, Michigan. We randomly assigned 350 kits to either standard or selective degradation testing methods and then compared DNA testing rates and CODIS entry rates between the two groups.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Continuation-ratio modeling showed no significant differences, indicating that the selective degradation method had no decrement in performance relative to customary methods. Follow-up equivalence tests indicated that CODIS entry rates for the two methods could differ by more than ±5%. Selective degradation methods required less personnel time for testing and scientific review than standard testing.

© 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en