Nevada SAFE-ITR SAK Tracking Project

For almost two years, the state of Nevada has been working toward identifying, testing and tracking all sexual assault kits that have been stored as evidence throughout the state. With the formation of a multidisciplinary Sexual Assault Kit Working Group, funding through the BJA's SAKI program and from DANY to assist with testing the backlogged kits, and with the state has made a good start into this project. There is still a need for appropriate SAK tracking systems which will allow the state to better serve victims and the rest of the public in terms of responding to, investigating, and prosecuting sexual assault. The state currently has no specific SAK evidence tracking system. Each agency uses its own different system, from written logs to excel spreadsheets to WinAce and the Beast. The Attorney General's Office is partnering with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Reno Police Department, the LVMPD Forensic Laboratory and the Washoe County Forensic Laboratory to introduce a statewide SAK evidence tracking system which can integrate with and enhance any existing evidence tracking system. By partnering with the state two forensic laboratories and the two largest law enforcement agencies, almost all of the state's sexual assault kits, from the existing SAKI cold case project, through current and future kits, will be tracked with this system. The data gathered by a SAK tracking system will allow easy reporting to granting agencies, the public, and any other organization with a need for the collected non-personal information. ca/ncf