TUCSON, ARIZ. (KGUN) — Back in 2022, Tucson Police Department (TPD) received a grant from Sexual Assault Initiative Kits (SAKI) to complete previous unfinished sexual assault kits.
Dallas Wilson with the TPD Detectives team explained the importance of this grant:
"Now, instead of the victim going to the hospital, getting the kit, and then having a patrol officer take the kit to our evidence center and put in storage, and then wait for an investigator to potentially request for that kit to get tested… we’re just testing them all immediately.”
Essentially, TPD tells me that kits are tested within a week now. The grant sparked a lot of change in the process and efficiency of them being tested.
“We’ve learned a lot about what our actions do and don't do for the victims and how we can help them better. So, we’re definitely trying to do better these days,” Wilson said.
SACASA is an organization that helps sexual assault victims in Arizona. They also help families impacted by sexual trauma.
"For a victim to make the decision to go through with getting a medical forensic exam is difficult and a very personal decision to them. To not have it tested was something that contributed to the injustice they experienced within the system," Katlyn Monje says, director of SACASA.
Monje is referring to 2016 when TPD had around 2,000 unprocessed rape kits.
Survivors can now track where their kits are while they are being processed.
“It’ll show that it’s moving from evidence storage to law enforcement, to the crime lab," Monje said. "If it goes forward with prosecution it’ll show if prosecution has certain parts of it as well. It's a sense of relief to see that it's moving along and not just sitting on a shelf somewhere."
"But now, to almost always guarantee that law enforcement is following up with this is a commitment that they can feel from the justice system that their statement is being taken seriously and their victimization matters," Monje said.
Those tracking the process of their kits will be notified when results are in, but the results will not be displayed. Survivors can then meet with the detective working on the case with them to go over the findings.
"That can be a pretty heavy moment," Monje said. "So, it’s important to have connections with folks that can help explain it and be able to get connected to support as you need it."
Monje said the improvement that TPD has made with processing rape kits is vital to survivors.
