Forgotten Evidence: A Mixed Methods Study of Why Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) Are Not Submitted for DNA Forensic Testing

• NCJ Number: 253473
• Journal: Law and Human Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 41 Dated: October 2017 Pages: 454-467
• Author(s): Rebecca Campbell; Giannina Bybee; Deborah Shaw; Jessica Shaw
• Date Published: October 2017
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2011-DN-BX-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes a 5-year action research project conducted with a city that had large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs), Detroit, Michigan, with a focus on why thousands of rape kits in this city were never submitted for forensic DNA testing.

Abstract

Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) (also termed "rape kits") have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence can assist sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying offenders, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. The current mixed-methods study combined ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews to identify stakeholders' perspectives on why rape kits were not routinely submitted for testing. Then, the study quantitatively examined whether these factors may have affected police practices regarding SAK testing, as evidenced by predictable changes in SAK submission rates over time. Chronic resource scarcity only partially explained why the organizations that serve rape victimsthe police, crime lab, prosecution, and victim advocacycould not test all rape kits, investigate all reported sexual assaults, and support all rape survivors. SAK submission rates significantly increased once criminal justice professionals in this city had full access to the FBI DNA forensic database Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but even then, most SAKs were still not submitted for DNA testing. Building crime laboratories' capacities for DNA testing and training police on the utility of forensic evidence and best practices in sexual assault investigations can help remedy, and possibly prevent, the problem of untested rape kits. (publisher abstract modified)