Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) and the Backlog of Untested Sexual Assault Evidence: In Brief
Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) and the Backlog of
Untested Sexual Assault Evidence: In Brief
Sexual assault kits (SAKs, also referred to as rape kits) are used by medical professionals to
collect evidence during a forensic medical exam of a sexual assault victim. Generally, upon
completion of the medical exam and with the victim’s consent, the kit is transferred to an
authorized law enforcement agency that logs it into evidence. Procedure and protocol regarding
when and where kits are sent, however, vary across jurisdictions. Some law enforcement
agencies automatically send the kits to forensic laboratories for testing, while others wait for
varying reasons and amounts of time. In some cases, this decision depends on when a request is
made for a forensic analysis of a kit. Evidence from these kits may help identify or convict an
alleged offender as well as exonerate those who were wrongly convicted of sexual assaults. DNA
evidence collected during a forensic medical exam may also be stored in databases for use in other cases. The backlog of
untested SAKs has raised concerns that these cases are not being fully investigated and that evidence in untested kits could
have been used to prevent other victimizations.
