Five Things About Sexual Assault Kits

Investments in research have dramatically improved the science of forensic DNA testing and the understanding of sexual assault kits. The National Institute of Justice has released Five Things About Sexual Assault Kitsto explain what is known and not known about sexual assault kits based on research to date, including:

1.     No one knows the number of kits nationwide that have not been submitted for testing.

2.     Little is known about the age of unsubmitted kits.

3.     Submitting a kit to a crime lab does not mean the lab will obtain usable DNA.

4.     Even if the police have a suspect, testing a kit can be useful.

5.     The cost to test a sexual assault kit varies widely by jurisdiction.

To read Five Things About Sexual Assault Kits, go to http://nij.gov/five-things/pages/sexual-assault-kits.aspx