NCJ Number
125960
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 59 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1990) Pages: 14-20
Date Published
1990
Length
7 pages
Annotation
These step-by-step instructions for the collection, identification, packaging, and storing of serological evidence in sexual assault investigations are intended to help police officers improve the chances for successful prosecutions.
Abstract
Police officers should recognize both that victims are distraught and that an immediate examination is crucial for the proper collection of evidence. The victim should be transported to a local hospital or rape trauma center, where nurses or physicians can gather the appropriate physical evidence. The evidence should include vaginal, oral, and/or anal swabs; smear slides; additional swabs of the thighs; pubic combings; debris such as soil and fibers; the victim's clothing; dried saliva; and head and pubic hair from the victim and suspects; and other samples. After being dried, the samples should be refrigerated or frozen. In addition, the police officer's initial interview of the victim should cover not only the date, time, and location of the assault and the description of the perpetrator, but also the victim's washing, vomiting, or other activities after the assault. They should also provide detailed information to crime laboratory personnel to permit the most thorough possible forensic analysis. Photographs and discussions of deoxyribonucleic acid profiling and of the role of serology.