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SFPD to test all sexual assault kits after audit, vows lab staffing increases
Summary
The commission heard a report showing hundreds of previously untested sexual-assault kits; Chief Suhr ordered testing of remaining kits, the ASAP program was expanded and the department said it will hire analysts and outsource work to address backlog.
The San Francisco Police Department told the Police Commission on Jan. 22 that it will test all sexual-assault kits going forward and is expanding lab capacity to clear a backlog.
Captain Parra, presenting the department94s audit of assault-kit processing, reported a multi-year property-control review that identified a large number of kits taken into custody between 2003 and 2012. The transcript records the audit numbers as 1,707 kits taken into custody in that span, of which roughly 813 were sent to the crime lab for analysis and about 894 were not; the department identified 141 ASAP (Additional Sexual Assault Evidence Program) cases that had been prioritized and reported a remainder of 753 kits that had not yet been tested. Captain Parra said Chief Suhr has ordered testing of those remaining kits and that the department will use outsourced testing to reduce lab impact while it completes a new procurement process for longer-term services.
The department also announced an expansion of its ASAP protocol, effective Jan. 1, to include all sexual-assault kits collected at Mission Emergency Hospital for both identified and unidentified suspects. Parra said the department hired two supervisors for the DNA unit and was in the process of hiring three additional analysts; once those hires are complete the lab will have four supervisors and 15 analysts. He said the lab redesigned its workspace with new benches, a microscope area and a dedicated evidence screening room to accommodate additional analysts.
Parra reported an average turnaround time of eight weeks for the year cited, down from prior averages and ahead of informal Bay Area comparisons they cited at 12 weeks. He said the department94s administrative code sets a collection window of 72 hours and a time goal of 14 days to analyze kits and, while the department meets the collection standard, achieving the 14-day testing goal remains difficult given nationwide demand for DNA analysis.
Commissioners pressed for confirmation that survivors had been notified in cases where kits were not initially tested; Captain Fox and SVU staff replied that survivors are contacted through the Special Victims Unit and that the department will be reaching out to victims as kits are forwarded for testing. Commissioners requested written highlights and statistics for their files.
No additional policy vote was required to implement the testing order; commissioners praised the decision and asked staff to return with written materials documenting the changes and resource needs.
