Senate approves bill to create standardized rape kit in Oklahoma

The Senate gave unanimous final approval to legislation Tuesday which authorizes the use of one standardized sexual assault evidence kit by all law enforcement agencies statewide. Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, said she authored Senate Bill 975 to address the state’s backlog of untested rape kits and to get victims justice faster.

In 2017, the Oklahoma Task Force on Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) conducted an audit and found that there were more than 7,200 untested rape kits throughout the state. Floyd was a member of the taskforce.

“Victims of sexual assault deserve justice, and justice can’t be served until their kits are analyzed,” said Floyd. “Standardizing the test will speed up processing of these kits and provide additional evidence to help law enforcement catch these criminals.”

Under SB 975, agencies must submit the kit to a laboratory within 20 days if the victim filed a report with law enforcement or requested it to be processed. Alleged sexual assault victims must be informed of the kit’s purpose and his/her right to have it tested. The bill also requires agencies to keep kits for up to 50 years or for the length of the crime’s statute of limitations, whichever is longer.

“This legislation provides important tools for law enforcement while also assisting victims of sexual assault,” said Floyd.

The OSBI is also directed to adopt prioritization guidelines for the testing of untested kits. The guidelines must consider when the test was taken, the statute of limitations, and whether the victim knows the alleged perpetrator or not. The OSBI and accredited crime laboratories are directed to adopt rules and guidelines for the submission of tested kits by January 1, 2020.

House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols served as the House principal author of the measure.

SB 975, which was one of the recommendations of the SAFE Task Force, now goes to the Governor for consideration.