Senate approves trio of bills to better help sexual assault victims

Three bills passed out of the Senate late Monday to better assist victims of sexual assault and address the backlog of untested rape kits in Oklahoma. The bills, which were recommendations from the 2017 Oklahoma Task Force on Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE), are authored by Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd who is a task force member.

“Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of rape and attempted rate in the nation, and the 2017 statewide audit found more than 7,200 untested rape kits,” said Floyd, D-Oklahoma City. “These bills will ensure the use of one standardized test statewide to speed up testing and analysis, require kits to be kept up to 50 years and create a kit tracking system accessible by victims and law enforcement to provide more transparency.”

Victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault can choose whether or not to submit to an exam to collect possible DNA evidence and receive medical care, such as STI prevention medication. Gathered evidence is preserved in a sexual assault evidence kit, also known as a rape kit.

SB 967 directs the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s (OSBI) Criminalistics Services Division to develop a statewide electronic tracking system for rape kits including those found in the 2017 statewide audit. The system, which would be accessible for victims, would track a kit’s location and whether it has been processed. Law enforcement agencies, forensic labs, medical providers and others who have custody of rape kits would be required to participate in the tracking system. The OSBI said the tracking system and annual maintenance will cost less than $100,000.

SB 971 requires that at least two of the 25 hours of mandated law enforcement continuing education provided through the Council on Law Enforcement Education Training (CLEET) include how to handle sexual assault reports beginning January 1, 2020. CLEET already provides this training in the Basic Academy and anticipates no fiscal impact.

SB 975 directs accredited crime laboratories to provide Oklahoma law enforcement agencies with the same standardized sexual assault evidence kit. Currently, three different kits are used throughout the state. Agencies must submit the kit to a laboratory within 20 days of receiving it 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 or 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.

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 alleged perpetrator is a stranger or familiar to the victim. The OSBI and accredited crime laboratories are directed to adopt rules and guidelines for the submission of tested kits by January 1, 2020.

“Survivors of sexual assault deserve justice,” said Floyd. “The bills we passed today will provide law enforcement with the tools and training they need to effectively investigate and prosecute sexual assault crimes. I thank the SAFE Task Force, Attorney General Mike Hunter, and victims’ advocates for their hard work on this legislation.”

The Senate bills now move to the House for consideration.