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                            Library & Multimedia
 Should Rape Kit Testing Be Prioritized by Victim-Offender Relationship? Empirical Comparison of Forensic Testing Outcomes for Stranger and Non-stranger Sexual Assaults
NCJ Number
              251251
Journal

*Criminology & Public Policy* Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2016 Pages: 555-583
Author(s)
          R.  Campbell;
                        S. J. Pierce;
                        D. B. Sharma;
                        H.  Feeney;
                        G.  Fehler-Cabral
Date Published

May 2016
Length
              29 pages
Annotation
              This study examined the DNA forensic testing outcomes from 894 previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) from Detroit, Michigan, with a focus on how many of these SAKs would produce DNA profiles eligible for upload into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the national forensic DNA database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then how many would produce CODIS hits (DNA matches) to other crimes.
Abstract
              Fifty-four percent of the SAKs associated with stranger-perpetrated sexual assaults yielded CODIS-eligible DNA profiles, producing 156 CODIS hits (DNA matches) and 51 hits matched prior sexual assault offenses in CODIS (i.e., serial sexual assault hit). Forty percent of the SAKs from non-stranger rapes had CODIS-eligible profiles, producing 103 CODIS hits and 18 serial sexual assault hits. CODIS entry rates and CODIS hit rates were equivalent between stranger and non-stranger SAKs; serial sexual assault hit rates were significantly higher for stranger SAKs. These results highlight the importance of testing both stranger and nonstranger SAKs, as they have an equivalent likelihood of producing CODIS hits. The findings do not support policy recommendations that stranger-perpetrated SAKs should have testing priority over non-stranger SAKs. Prioritizing stranger SAKs may have unintended negative consequences on the utility of CODIS by limiting the number and type of eligible DNA profiles that are referenced in the federal DNA database. (Publisher abstract modified)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2011-DN-BX-0001


  
  
        
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        NIJ-Sponsored


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)
                                Report (Study/Research)
                                Report (Grant Sponsored)
                                Program/Project Description


  
  
        
  Award
        The Detroit Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Action Research Project
    
  
  
Date Published: May 1, 2016
    
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