The Alaska Department of Public Safety has introduced a new system that allows victims to track evidence kits that are used during sexual assault trials. The aim is to assure the victims that there is a process completed.
The system began tracking in June. Austin McDaniel, with the Department of Public Safety, has said that there have already been 48 kit registrations entered into the system to date and 33 people have utilized the system to monitor their progress.
Jennifer Brown with Standing Together Against Rape, Inc. -A sexual assault support and prevention group located in Anchorage also called STAR — claimed that it was long overdue.
“Survivors who have been sexually assaulted will know that a decision is being taken against their kit,” she said.
The new system was introduced following the state’s clearing the backlog of untested kits. It also comes after a number of several years of difficulties that were reported by Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica as they collected the evidence needed and examining sexual assault allegations in Alaska.
Brown explained that the new process of tracking starts when the survivors are first assessed. They’re given a card that has the code for an assessment kit and advocates or nurses can assist them in setting up a new account.
It also provides security for those who could be at risk due to someone they share a home with, for example, avoiding autofills as well as saving passwords. To ensure their safety, survivors may choose an individual in their family, a friend or a representative from STAR for being the person to keep track of their kit.
Brown said that the procedure is similar to tracking a package. The first clinic will have seven days to mail the kit. Law enforcement then has 30 days to review the kit. Then, it is sent on to the State crime laboratory.
“span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The limitation on the kits under test is a maximum period of six months. However, we’re seeing them being tested a lot quicker than the six-month limit,” Brown said.
She stated that it’s far too early to tell how well the system functioning. However, for the moment she’s excited to find out how it can help survivors of sexual assault.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”That’s an important step in the direction that is right,” she said.
