Prosecution of rape demands timely evidence

Pennsylvania has been taking a closer look at how it handles and reports rape kits since Act 27, which expanded the Sexual Assault Testing and Evidence Collection Act, went into effect in 2015.

After years of renewed effort, the number of reported backlogged kits statewide decreased by more than 60 percent, from 1,908 in 2016 to 689 in 2018.

A review of Department of Health data and interviews with several police chiefs showed that there were no backlogged rape kits in Lancaster County in 2017, LNP’s Lindsey Blest reported.

In 2016, the year after Act 27 was implemented, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale criticized state law enforcement and health officials for both the rape kit testing backlog and for a poor reporting system.

He was absolutely right to make that a priority, and we’re encouraged by the measurable progress that has been made in significantly reducing the backlog.

But we want to see that number get to zero — so more work clearly must be done.

We have a tendency to minimize the crime of sexual assault. If a bullet is fired, it’s generally tested immediately — not put into a drawer for a year or more.

Why the different standard for rape kits in some police departments?

They should be tested as quickly as possible, so perpetrators can be tracked before they offend again.

Kendra Saunders, a counseling psychologist at Millersville University, said she has worked with many sexual assault victims.

“One really simple thing we can do to show that we value victims is to test their rape kits,” she told LNP.

Act 27 set requirements for reporting how many kits are backlogged, meaning untested for more than a year.

The legislation requires municipal police departments to report annually how many of their kits are backlogged.

After evidence is gathered in a rape kit, victims must give consent for a kit to be tested by police, according to state law.

Some victims decide against taking that step.

“That number will probably never be zero,” DePasquale said.

Testing rape kits “does help prevent future rapes and crack down on future crimes,” he said. “But you have to respect the wishes of the victim and walk through it with the victim.” He is right about this. At Lancaster General, trained sexual assault forensic nurse examiners, or SAFE nurses, provide care to victims of sexual assault, Mary Ann Eckard, spokeswoman for Lancaster General Health, told Blest.

“The SAFE nurse’s primary concern is for the patient’s physical and emotional well-being,” she said.

“Evidence collection is important, but the patient’s medical needs and emotional well-being are always the first focus.” This is as it should be. Police from the jurisdiction in which the crime happened have 72 hours to pick up the kit from the hospital.

Those departments have 15 days to send it to one of three state labs.

If a victim doesn’t give immediate approval for testing, his or her kit must be stored for at least two years, according to state law, Blest reported.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape would like the commonwealth to strengthen the guidelines on the handling of rape kits.

There are no guidelines, for instance, about informing victims if their kit is about to be destroyed, Kristen Houser, PCAR’s chief public affairs officer said.

Better protocols for kit collection, kit processing, kit storage and kit destruction need to be established, she said. We agree. We can never hope to erase the pain of what survivors have been through — much as we desperately want to.

But what we can do, at least, is to ensure that the criminal justice system gives them the respect and dignity they deserve, by handling carefully the evidence of the harm that was done to them.

— LNP, The Associated Press