What law enforcement needs to know about the new Sexual Assault Kit
Tracking SysteM
Liz Flowers
Georgia House Bill 255 , referred to as “ The Sexual Assault Reform Act of 2021 ”, passed unanimously through the House and Senate and was signed into law earlier this year by Governor Brian Kemp . The law allows the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council ( CJCC ) to create a tracking system of sexual assault kits ( SAKs ) from initial collection through receipt , analysis , and storage . The law also requires all medical facilities , state , county and city agencies , and persons that handle , process or store SAKs , to be registered users of the system by June 30 , 2022 , and all kits to be tracked within the system by July 1 , 2022 .
Why do we need a SAK Tracking System ?
The new SAK Tracking System is one of many steps legislatures , leaders and advocates have called for to prevent another sexual assault kit backlog from occurring in Georgia , and to allow for accountability and transparency for victims of sexual assault . The bill sponsor , State Rep . Scott Holcomb , stated , “ This legislation was developed collaboratively by the state ’ s experts in best practice in sexual assault response . It is the next step forward . The sexual assault tracking system will provide updates to survivors as well as information about the incidence of these crimes to policymakers and law enforcement .” How does the system work ?
The SAK Tracking System is a statewide system that will be administered by CJCC , and each individual site will be responsible for managing user access , permissions and rights . The system utilizes a barcode on the outside of the sexual assault kit to facilitate tracking throughout the process . No personal identifying information about the victim will be contained in the
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