SALINAS — The Monterey County civil grand jury recommends the District Attorney’s Office take the lead in developing a “centralized interagency method” to keep track of rape kits to facilitate investigations into sexual assault in its latest report.
The report started by stating news media coverage detailing reports of rape kits being backlogged, untested and destroyed across the country.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a rape kit is the package of items used by medical personnel in a sexual assault forensic exam that includes a checklist, materials and instructions, along with envelopes and containers to package any specimens collected during the exam.
Published studies on the matter have found hundreds of thousands of backlogged rape kits at various law enforcement agencies in the United States.
The civil grand jury report stated law enforcement agencies in Monterey County have investigated approximately 150 “rape-related crimes” a year over the past four years, adding that the frequency of “rape crimes” has steadily increased over the past 10 years.
According to the civil grand jury report, “a consistent set of actions is initiated” after a rape allegation is filed and reported to authorities. If the victim agrees to a sexual assault forensic exam, they are seen at Natividad hospital or Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and a Sexual Assault Response team is convened. The team includes a law enforcement officer, a sexual assault nurse examiner and a victim’s rights advocate.
The team performs the collection of bodily evidence and creates a rape kit. The sexual assault nurse examiner collects a small set of samples, which are sent to the state Department of Justice lab in Richmond for rapid analysis of the DNA samples.
According to the report, Monterey County has a well-established process for providing voluntary services through the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center and the DA’s Office.
In its findings, the civil grand jury wrote law enforcement agencies “lacked awareness and provided unclear and inconsistent information” in response to being asked about backlogged rape kits.
“The lack of a centralized place to post information has resulted in a lack of consistency in the way that (law enforcement agencies) manage and track sexual assaults,” the report stated.
Despite the availability of advanced training for sexual assault investigators, the report stated the training is not prioritized in the budgeting process and agencies instead rely on crosstraining by senior investigators.
While most law enforcement agencies in the county have implemented DNA testing protocols established by the state Department of Justice that have reduced the likelihood of unprocessed DNA evidence, there is no centralized authority coordinating the agencies in the county regarding collection, processing and reporting of sexual assaults.
The civil grand jury recommends the DA’s Office take the lead by creating a centralized interagency method to post and track sexual assault occurrences, rape kit collection and reporting to facilitate investigations among all agencies by Jan 15, 2020. By that same date, the civil grand jury recommends the governing bodies of all county law enforcement agencies assign a representative to participate in the centralized reporting initiative.
As required by law, the report recommends law enforcement agencies report data on untested rape kits in their possession, including when the kit was collected and why the kit has not been tested, by July 1 to the state Department of Justice.
The report recommends law enforcement agencies develop a source for additional expertise training and recertification within their sexual assault and forensic divisions and add or dedicate certified staff for sexual assault investigations by fiscal year 2020-2021.
The civil grand jury is part of the judicial branch of government. Members are selected from a group of eligible citizen volunteers residing in the county. Each year, the civil grand jury closely examines local governmental agencies in the county and investigates citizen concerns and files reports with its findings and recommendations.
June 25, 2019
Monterey Herald
By Tom Wright
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