Untested Sexual Assault Kits and Backlogged Evidence Pennsylvania Department of Health May 2020 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Overview 3 Methods 4 Findings 5 Citations 39 A previous version of this report, published in April 2020, included two discrepancies. The report was amended to correct these and now includes Pequea Twp. Police Department Findings and the correct number of reporting agencies on page 5. UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS AND BACKLOGGED EVIDENCE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 2 Overview The Sexual Assault Testing and Evidence Collection Act (SATEC) was amended by Act 164 of 2018. Act 164 provides a sexual assault evidence collection program that grants responsibilities to the Department of Health (Department) and the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) to establish civil immunity and provide for rights of sexual assault victims, while giving PSP the task to complete and submit a biannual report to the Department of Health (SATEC Act 164 of 2018). Act 164 was signed by Governor Wolf on Oct. 24, 2018, and went into effect on Dec. 23, 2018 (SATEC Act 164 of 2018). Act 164 made several changes to the existing version of the SATEC. First, a new statutory provision, 35 P.S. §§ 10172.6, was created that mandated biannual reporting requirements on PSP. The newly created provision within the SATEC requires PSP to make an initial report to the Department by Dec. 31, 2018, and every six months thereafter. The PSP report must include the volume of sexual assault kits for which testing is completed, the average turnaround time to complete testing and the reasons for any delays. The report submitted from PSP to the Department in February is Appendix A. Additional changes to the SATEC include: - Establishment of a designated telephone number for health care facilities to call when law enforcement fails to take possession of the kit within 72 hours; - Health care facilities must notify law enforcement within 12 hours of collecting sexual assault evidence; and - Testing of evidence must be completed within six months of it being submitted to an approved lab Every year by April 30, the Department is required to publish a report summarizing the information submitted by local law enforcement agencies to its website. This annual report is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the number of untested sexual assault kits in the commonwealth and to ensure that those kits are tested in a timely fashion. UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS AND BACKLOGGED EVIDENCE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 3 Methods As mandated by the SATEC, law enforcement agencies were required to report the number of sexual assault kits in their inventory awaiting testing and the number of sexual assault kits in their possession with backlogged evidence awaiting testing as of Dec. 31, 2019. The SATEC defines backlogged evidence as “sexual assault evidence that is awaiting testing for 12 months or more” (35 P.S. 10172.2). Evidence is awaiting testing if it meets all the following conditions: • Has been collected and is in the possession of a local law enforcement agency; • Has not received DNA or other appropriate forensic analyses; • Is related to a criminal case or investigation where final disposition has not been reached; and • Should undergo DNA or other appropriate forensic analysis as determined by a local law enforcement agency. Law enforcement agencies were notified by mail and email of the biannual reporting requirements of Act 164 of 2018, as well as the ongoing requirement to report backlogged sexual assault evidence. Questions in this year’s survey were simplified due to changes enacted with Act 29 of 2019. Law enforcement agencies were asked to provide the number of sexual assault kits in the following categories: - Backlogged kits awaiting testing; - Kits for which no consent to test was obtained; - Kits from anonymous reporters; and - Kits for which the jurisdiction of the assault was unknown. UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS AND BACKLOGGED EVIDENCE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 4 Findings A total of 1,026 law enforcement agencies reported results this year. The agencies, including campus police and approved laboratories, reported 94 backlogged kits at the end of 2019. This is a 62 percent decrease in the number of backlogged kits compared to the end of 2018 and a 90 percent decrease compared to the end of 2017. Police departments are also in possession of 591 kits for which the victim has not consented to having the kit tested, 466 kits for which the victim is anonymous and 45 kits where the assault occurred in an unknown jurisdiction. Table 1 includes an overview of the number of sexual assault kits awaiting testing as of February 2020. It also provides an overview of the number of kits for which the victim did not consent to testing, kits with anonymous victims and kits for which the assault occurred in an unknown jurisdiction. Table 2 includes an in-depth list of each local law enforcement agency, university or laboratory that reported a backlogged sexual assault kit, the number of kits where the victim did not consent to testing, the number of kits from an anonymous victim (Jane Doe kit) and the number of kits where the assault occurred in an unknown jurisdiction. Table 1. Number of Sexual Assault Kits Rape Kit Inventory Number Total sexual assault kits awaiting testing at end of 2019 94 Number of kits where victim did not consent to testing 591 Kits with anonymous victims (Jane Doe kit) 466 Kits where the assault occurred in an unknown jurisdiction 45 Source: Pennsylvania State Police, 2019 UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS AND BACKLOGGED EVIDENCE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 5 Table 2. Status of Sexual Assault Kits by Police Department Backlogged Kits w/No Jane Zip Kits from Unknown County Agency City Kits Awaiting Consent to Doe Code Jurisdiction Testing Test Kits Adams Adams County Detectives Gettysburg 17325 0 0 18 0 Bendersville Borough Police Adams Bendersville 17306 0 0 0 0 Department Adams Biglerville Police Department Biglerville 17307 0 0 0 0 Bonneauville Borough Police Adams Gettysburg 17325 0 0 0 0 Department Adams Carroll Valley Borough Fairfield 17320 0 0 0 0 Conewago Township Police Adams Hanover 17331 1 0 0 0 Department Cumberland Township Police Adams Gettysburg 17325 0 0 0 0 Department Adams East Berlin Police East Berlin 17316 0 0 0 0 Eastern Adams Regional Police Adams New Oxford 17350 0 0 0 0 Department Adams Gettysburg Police Department Gettysburg 17325 0 1 0 0 Adams Harmar Township Cheswick 15024 0 0 0 0 Adams Latimore Township Police York Springs 17372 0 0 0 0 Adams Liberty Township Police Fairfield 17320 0 0 0 0 Littlestown Borough Police Adams Littlestown 17340 0 0 0 0 Department McSherrystown Police McSherrysto Adams 17344 0 0 0 0 Department wn Reading Township Police Adams East Berlin 17316 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny County Housing Allegheny Pittsburgh 15222 0 0 0 0 Authority Police Department Allegheny County Office of the Allegheny Pittsburgh 15222 0 0 0 0 Medical Examiner Allegheny Allegheny County Police Pittsburgh 15220 0 0 8 0 Allegheny County Sheriff's Allegheny Pittsburgh 15219 0 0 0 0 Office Allegheny Allegheny Valley Regional Harwick 15049 0 0 0 0 Allegheny Aspinwall Police Department Aspinwall 15215 0 0 0 0 Allegheny Avalon Police Pittsburgh 15202 0 0 0 0 Baldwin Township Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15234 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny Bell Acres Police Department Sewickley 15143 0 0 0 0 Allegheny Bethel Park Police Department Bethel Park 15102 0 0 0 0 Bethel Park School District Allegheny Bethel Park 15102 0 0 0 0 Police Borough of Blawnox Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15238 0 0 0 0 Department Borough of Sewickley Heights Allegheny Sewickley 15143 0 0 0 0 Police Borough of Sharpsburg Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15215 0 0 0 0 Department Brackenridge Borough Police Brackenridg Allegheny 15014 0 0 0 0 Department e Allegheny Braddock Hills Pittsburgh 15221 0 0 0 0 Brentwood Borough School Allegheny Pittsburgh 15227 0 0 0 0 District Police Department UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS AND BACKLOGGED EVIDENCE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 6 Backlogged Kits w/No Jane Zip Kits from Unknown County Agency City Kits Awaiting Consent to Doe Code Jurisdiction Testing Test Kits Bridgeville Borough Police Allegheny Bridgeville 15017 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny Carlow University Police Pittsburgh 15213 0 0 0 0 Carnegie Mellon University Allegheny Pittsburgh 15213 0 0 0 0 Police Department Allegheny Carnegie Police Department Carnegie 15106 0 0 0 0 Castle Shannon Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15234 0 0 0 0 Department Chatham University Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15232 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny Churchill Borough Pittsburgh 15235 0 0 0 0 City of Clairton Police Allegheny Clairton 15025 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny City of Duquesne Duquesne 15110 0 0 0 0 City of Allegheny City of McKeesport Police 15132 2 1 1 0 McKeesport Collier Township Police Allegheny Presto 15142 0 0 0 0 Department Community College of Allegheny Pittsburgh 15233 0 0 0 0 Allegheny County Allegheny Coraopolis Police Department Coraopolis 15108 0 1 0 0 Crafton Borough Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15205 0 0 0 0 Department Crescent Township Police Allegheny Crescent 15046 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny Dormont Police Department Pittsburgh 15216 0 0 0 0 Duquesne University Allegheny Pittsburgh 15282 0 0 0 0 Department. of Public Safety East McKeesport Police East Allegheny 15035 0 0 0 0 Department McKeesport Allegheny Edgewood Pittsburgh 15218 0 0 0 0 Allegheny Edgeworth Police Department Sewickley 15143 0 0 0 0 Elizabeth Township Police Allegheny Elizabeth 15037 0 0 0 0 Department Etna Borough Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15223 0 0 0 0 Department Fawn Township Police Allegheny Tarentum 15084 0 0 0 0 Department Findlay Township Police Allegheny Clinton 15026 0 0 0 0 Department Borough of Allegheny Forest Hills Police Department 15221 0 0 0 0 Forest Hills Forward Township Police Allegheny Elizabeth 15037 0 0 0 0 Department Fox Chapel Borough Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15238 0 0 0 0 Department Franklin Park Police Allegheny Pittsburgh 15237 0 0 0 0 Department Allegheny Frazer Township Police Tarentum 15084 0 0 0 0 Gateway School District Police Monroeville Allegheny 15146 0 0 0 0 Department Boro.