JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Survivors of sexual assault and FDLE’s DNA analysis experts applauded what they are calling the successful launch of a rape kit tracking database that’s already led to the arrest of violent sexual offenders.
This is after more than 13,000 rape kits went untested back in 2016 because of a backlog.
This new database is a critical tool especially for sexual assault survivors, giving them the power to monitor the status of their rape kit after being sexually assaulted from its collection all the way to trial. The database is up and running now, months ahead of schedule, something, sexual assault survivors say may encourage other victims to come forward.
“For 30 years I didn’t know what happened to my kit, I didn’t have any idea of what was next,” said Gail Gardner, a sexual assault survivor.
News4JAX spoke with Garnder on Wednesday by phone and said she’s pleased the database is up and running early.
″So obviously, another benefit to this database besides the survivors having access to this information is FTL li and the rest of the laboratories knowing what kits have been collected and what kits should be submitted to the lab,” FDLE Crime Lab Analyst Supervisor Marcie Scott said.
Scott said the database ensures that a backlog of rape kits will never occur again in the state of Florida.
The database that’s up and running now in 67 counties gives sexual assault survivors the option to see what’s happening with their kit at any given time. They can also receive notifications with changes to the status of their case, or if the DNA submitted has a match.
All the agencies involved have access to the information at all times.
And it’s cloud-based, which is great,” Scott said. “And it allows all of the different stakeholders, which is the medical providers who do that exam, to collect the evidence, the law enforcement agency that’s investigating the case. And then the laboratory testing the case, it allows all of us to be able to access the system using any device with internet.”
A spokesperson for FDLE said it has 1,000 rape kits currently in the database.