The Alaska Department of Public Safety’s Sex Assault Kit Tracking System recently went live statewide enabling survivors of sexual assault to track the status of their kit securely online. Victims now have access to a portal for the tracking system which allows them to track the progress of their kit in the least invasive and traumatic way.
“My administration was proud to eliminate the backlog of untested sexual assault kits shortly after taking office and we are providing the Department of Public Safety, Law, and Corrections with the resources that they need to make our state a safer place,” stated Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. “While there is still more work to do to address the scourge of sexual assault that plagues our state, this is a positive step in the right direction.”
In developing the tracking software, DPS worked with stakeholders including, Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) nurses, the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Lab, law enforcement across the state, prosecutors, and survivors to ensure the system is tailored to Alaska’s unique needs.
“After the State of Alaska completed the processing of our untested sexual assault kits from across the state, one of the recommendations from the working group was to enable this trauma informed tracking system for survivors,” said Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. “This new system will allow a survivor that has submitted a kit to view the status and location of their kit without contacting the law enforcement officer investigating the crime.”
Survivors will be given instructions on how to access the system when the sexual assault kit evidence is collected by a specially trained medical professional. DPS began implementing this system regionally starting in early June – every sexual assault kit collected moving forward will be trackable in this new system.