The problem with un-tested sexual assault kits – also known as rape kits – has been getting more attention from journalists and lawmakers lately.
The kits are collected to preserve DNA evidence after an assault occurs. But in some jurisdictions across the country, the backlog for authorities to actually test the kits reaches into the hundreds, or even the thousands.
In Vermont, by contrast, there are just a couple dozen un-tested rape kits.
Dr. Trisha Conti, director of Vermont’s Forensic Laboratory, joined VPR to talk more about how the system works in the state.
“We have a backlog, but in relation to what’s been reported in the media for other jurisdictions, it’s minimal,” says Conti. She says that this week, the backlog for total un-tested kits in Vermont is 39.
“When a victim feels they’ve been sexually assaulted, they can go to any of the emergency departments in the state of Vermont and at each one of those locations they can be given access to a sexual assault nurse examiner,” describes Conti. She says that following the examination, the jurisdiction where the assault is alleged to have occurred will be contacted and they will come to the hospital to pick up the kit. “We recommend within three days, law enforcement agency will submit that kit to the forensic laboratory for examination,” she says.
After the kit is analyzed, says Conti, depending on the results, they will issue a report to the investigating agency. “If a victim has come forward and reported the crime … they [will] let them know the results and continue the investigation,” she says.
Out of the 39 kits that are un-tested in Vermont at the moment, 27 of them are listed as unreported or anonymous. “That means that a victim has gone to the hospital, had a kit collected, but at that point in time they have decided not to report it to the police …” says Conti. She adds that the law enforcement agency will still collect the kit and bring it to the lab. At any point in time after that, the victim can still report the kit to law enforcement.
"I believe earlier this year we had our first case in recent history where a profile generated from an anonymous kit did hit on a convicted offender." - Dr. Trisha Conti, director of Vermont’s Forensic Laboratory
Conti says Vermont is “in the minority” in that it does test all of these anonymous kits. “… If we go ahead and we find sperm, for instance, we will do testing on that. I believe earlier this year we had our first case in recent history where a profile generated from an anonymous kit did hit on a convicted offender,” she says.
Conti says their system for handling rape kits in Vermont, from beginning to end, is fairly efficient. “We have a very robust system, kind of from soup to nuts, so when evidence is collected in the state we have a tracking system. We know every time a hospital uses a kit, they are all tracked with a specific number. Those numbers are reported back to a coordinator and as the kit moves through the system, we kind of close the loop … we have a good handle on not only doing the analysis, but monitoring the program through its process,” she says.
