Georgia SAKI Cold Case Task Force

The state of Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), the state administering agency for formula grant programs from the Offices for Victims of Crime, and Violence Against Women, National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is pleased to submit this application for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s FY 2023 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant in partnership with the State Expert Committee of the state of Georgia’s “SART Project”, the Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Task Force (the “Task Force”), the Georgia Prosecuting Attorney’s Council (the “PAC”), the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (the “GBI”).

As Georgia’s executive criminal justice and victim services agency, CJCC and its partners will use funds to continue to provide leadership and direction to achieve a comprehensive approach to addressing challenges associated with the sexual assault kit testing. Through this grant program, CJCC aims to: 1) continue providing coordination among criminal justice system agencies and victim service providers to address the challenges specific to jurisdictions across the state of Georgia in handling SAKs; 2) enhance existing sexual assault policies for all agencies and organizations within the state that respond to sexual assault crimes; 3) continue the GA SAKI Task Force initiatives including the downstream investigations and prosecutions, cold case consultation, and VICAP entry; 4) supplement the existing advocacy focus of the initiative to include all victims in cold case sexual assault cases regardless of investigative leads from CODIS hits; and 5) inventory and test partially tested sexual assault kits in Georgia. 

The ultimate goal of the project is to achieve consistency in the coordinated response to sexual assaults throughout the state, so that victims are safe, and offenders are held accountable.