Cumberland County Sexual Assault Kit Tracking and Testing Initiative

The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office in Portland, Maine, proposes to implement the Cumberland County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. The purpose is to inventory and track all sexual assault kits held currently in the county, as well as to test all appropriate kits in line with Bureau of Justice Assistance standards. Primary project activities include establishing a multidisciplinary team that meets regularly and includes victim advocates, sexual assault forensic examiners, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and lab personnel to establish trauma-informed and evidence-based best practices for survivor notification and related investigations and prosecutions and to prevent backlog of unsubmitted or partially tested kits. This group will recommend and provide training on the newly developed tracking system and will conduct other ongoing trainings as needs are identified. Expected outcomes include improved procedural justice for victims, a clearing of the Cumberland County kit backlog, fuller investigations of cases and prosecutions as evidence allows, and an increase in accountability