As part of the training and technical assistance offered to grantees under the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), this report describes the features of the SAKI Virtual Academy, an online learning platform that provides five e-learning curricula that address the key steps in sexual assault response reform.
This report profiles the content of webinars that create the foundation for a reformed response to sexual assault and ways to manage backlogs of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs). The report recommends that each representative of a jurisdiction's SAKI multidisciplinary team (MDT) view these webinars, since they are critical to the effectiveness of each SAKI site. This report summarizes the content of webinars on each of the following topics: addressing the problem of untested SAKs; using CODIS for unsubmitted SAKs; basic knowledge on DNA for law enforcement agencies; investigation of cold case sexual assaults; strategies for sexual assault victim notification; successful prosecution of cold sexual assault cases; and the prosecutor's role in sexual assault survivor notification. Another series of webinars focuses on the more technical aspects of addressing previously unsubmitted SAKs, including topics such as conducting an inventory and evidence tracking systems. The SAKI Webinar Series will also highlight key findings from the research being conducted in relation to SAKI sites and provide information to sites that are interested in developing a research partnership. Monthly conference calls of a researcher/analyst working group provide a forum to discuss research partnerships and analysis issues as a means of sharing knowledge and information across SAKI sites.