2016 SAKI Project

The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, and prosecutor’s offices to support multidisciplinary community response teams engaged in the comprehensive reform of jurisdictions’ approaches to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) - i.e. those SAKs that have never been submitted to a crime laboratory.

The goal of the SAKI is the creation of a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to these cases whenever possible through a victim-centered approach, as well as to build jurisdictions’ capacity to prevent the development of conditions that lead to high numbers of unsubmitted SAKs in the future. The holistic program provides jurisdictions with resources to address their unsubmitted SAK issue, including support to inventory, test, and track SAKs; create and report performance metrics; access necessary training to increase effectiveness in addressing the complex issues associated with these cases and engage in multidisciplinary policy development, implementation, and coordination; and improve practices related to investigation, prosecution, and victim engagement and support in connection with evidence and cases resulting from the testing process.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 National SAKI Program will provide funds to recipients to implement or enhance the comprehensive BJA model to address the issues that underline the problem of unsubmitted SAKs or to expand their existing SAKI project to include the collection of lawfully owed DNA samples from convicted offenders.

The city of Jacksonville is receiving an FY 2016 SAKI award under Purpose Area 1 to eliminate the SAK backlog in the consolidated City of Jacksonville, Duval County. Duval County, one of the three Counties that make up the Fourth Judicial Circuit, has a population of over 862,000. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) is the law enforcement entity for the consolidated City of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, which makes up approximately 95% of the county's population. In 2015 the State Attorney's Office, Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida (SAO), was awarded funds under the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) was awarded funds from the New York County District Attorney's Office (DANY) to test unsubmitted SAKs. The 2015 Initiative added two cold-case detectives to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO); however, the work of both awards has created the need for additional resources to address this issue both short-and long-term. With the support of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), the JSO will use SAKI funds for a full-time site coordinator to support data tracking and digitization, investigative overtime and travel, crime analysis, evidence room renovation, and upgrades to the evidence tracking system. The city of Jacksonville’s SAKI Project will collaboratively reduce the number of SAKs in evidence by taking a victim centered, multi-disciplinary approach to test, investigate, and prosecute cases while providing services to victims in a sensitive manner. The recipient will examine and improve existing policies to promote a victim-centered approach to sexual assault, improve evidence storage and tracking of SAKs, and implement crime analysis as an investigative tool.

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