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State Auditor McGuiness: “Delaware Criminal Justice Council Policy Updates Improve Justice for All”
— Deleware.gov, Aug 25, 2022
“I am pleased this update coincides with best practices and recommendations identified in our special report, and we are proud of the efforts from the Criminal Justice Council (CJC) and Delaware Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Coordinator Mike Kelly’s efforts to address this critical workload,” said Auditor McGuiness. “These recent policy updates from the CJC are an important step in ensuring victims receive justice, but there is more work to be done,” said Auditor McGuiness."
Missouri Attorney General’s office releases second SAFE Kit inventory report, ships 300 untested kits from Kansas City
— KTTN News, Aug 16, 2022
“One of my first actions as attorney general was to launch the SAFE Kit Initiative to clear the backlog of untested kits across the state of Missouri. Since then, thanks to the dedication and hard work of Judge M. Keithley Williams and her team, the SAFE Kit Initiative has made major strides in working towards that goal,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “My Office will continue to work to ensure that we honor the courage of victims who came forward to report these heinous crimes by bringing offenders out of the shadows and off of the streets.”
Man Arrested in 2005 DC Sexual Assault of Girl
— NBC Washington, Aug 6, 2022
"D.C. police arrested a man nearly 17 years after the armed sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Southeast.
According to court documents, the evidence collected from the incident was recently sent out for a new forensic DNA analysis. When the DNA profile was entered into a national database, it matched another sample from Virginia."
Durham Police hope to send remaining 160 untested sexual assault kits from backlog to vendor for testing by year’s end
— CBS17, Aug 5, 2022
"In 2018, an inventory of the Durham Police Department found it had 1,711 untested sexual assault kits. Some of the cases went back as far as the 1980s.
Since then, Durham police have been working with the state’s crime lab to clear this backlog. On Friday, Durham police told CBS 17 that more than 900 of the sexual assault kits from the backlog have been tested, more than 500 are in the process of getting tested and there are 160 they are waiting to send off to a vendor to get tested."
DNA evidence brings guilty pleas in Durham rape cases, one from 17 years ago
— The News & Observer, Aug 3, 2022
"Two men in Durham were convicted of rape in separate “cold cases” Monday, including one that occurred 17 years ago and whose victim died this year before she could see her attacker sentenced.
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office announced the convictions, which came as a result of previously untested DNA evidence in Durham’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, according to a news release."
Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Backlog Reduction Project
— City of Albuquerque, Aug 3, 2022
"The Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK) Backlog Reduction Project was created to test previously unsubmitted SAEKs, commonly referred to as rape kits or the rape kit backlog, that have accumulated for years. This project will not only submit for testing thousands of SAEKs, but also focus on policy development and change, training, following up on investigative leads, prosecuting eligible cases, enable better reporting of crimes, outreach for the victim notification process, strengthening victim services, and eliminating the possibility of a future backlog."
AG Jennings Applauds CJC Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Policy Changes
— Deleware.gov, Aug 2, 2022
"Attorney General Kathy Jennings applauded several policy changes implemented by the Criminal Justice Council as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen rights for survivors of sexual assault. The new policies establish timelines for the collection, documentation, processing and investigation of assault evidence “kits.” This policy is a result of funding received from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program."
‘I felt like I got let out of prison:’ Atlanta rape victim gets justice after 22 years
— Yahoo News, Jul 23, 2022
"A Fulton County prosecutor says the victim’s rape kit sat untested for years-- and there may be hundreds of other women still waiting for justice because of the same issue.
Willis says Ward’s prosecution was one of her top priorities. It was made possible thanks to the sexual assault kit initiative which was funded by grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice. The sexual assault kit initiative sent old kits to private labs for testing."
