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Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI)

'Looking backwards can tell us a whole lot about moving forward'

Cleveland suspect
Photo credit: Cleveland.com

When Cuyahoga County, Ohio, embarked on the testing of nearly 7,000 backlogged sexual assault kits (SAKs) in early 2013, metaphors from Greek and Roman mythology abounded in the Cleveland media coverage – 'Herculean task' and 'Pandora's box' chief among them.

Five years on, now that the backlog has been largely cleared, the sense of dread associated with those words has been replaced by one of...

DOJ BJA's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Helps Bring Serial Killer Samuel Little to Justice

The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), an innovative program of the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) which is helping law enforcement agencies nationwide test rape kits and close cold case sexual assaults and homicides, is one of the critical investigative tools that led authorities to believe Samuel Little may be the worst serial killer in American history, by enabling police across...

Over 47,000 Kits Tested Through BJA's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative since 2015

In just 4 years, SAKI has already identified more than 200,000 unsubmitted kits across 54 jurisdictions in 35 states

One untested sexual assault kit can have ramifications far beyond the case for which it was originally collected.

Sexual assault offenders are often serial offenders, either committing multiple sexual assaults or other violent crimes. Testing a sexual assault kit where the perpetrator is known could provide...

BJA FY 19 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Training and Technical Assistance

Closing Date
The purpose of this announcement is to select one TTA provider to deliver, nationwide, a wide range of TTA services to SAKI grantees; however, given the complexity and diversity of the tasks applicants are strongly urged to partner with other relevant providers. These services include, but are not limited to, training sessions and educational sessions developed and conducted by relevant subject-matter experts (SMEs), onsite or...

Data and Communication Flow in CODIS

Date Published
March 2018
Publication Type
Report (Technical Assistance), Report (Grant Sponsored), Program/Project Description, Instructional Material, Factsheet
Agencies
BJA-Sponsored

BJA FY 19 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI)

Closing Date
SAKI, administered by BJA, is a competitive grant program that provides funding to support multidisciplinary community response teams to inventory, track, and test previously unsubmitted SAKs; collect and test lawfully owed DNA from offenders/arrestees; produce necessary protocols and policies to improve collaboration among laboratories, police, prosecutors, and victim service providers; provide resources to address the sexual assault investigations and prosecutions that result from evidence and...