An Examination of Sexual Assault Kit Submission Efficiencies Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Law Enforcement Agencies

• Author: Kevin J. Strom,Amanda Royal Young,Patricia A. Melton,Joshua A. Hendrix,William J. Parish
• DOI: 10.1177/0887403419884730
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403419884730

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2020, Vol. 31(7) 1095 –1115

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0887403419884730

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Article

An Examination of Sexual

Assault Kit Submission

Efficiencies Among a

Nationally Representative

Sample of Law Enforcement

Agencies

Joshua A. Hendrix1, Kevin J. Strom1,

William J. Parish1, Patricia A. Melton1,

and Amanda Royal Young1

Abstract

Drawing on results from a survey of 321 law enforcement agencies, we assess how

labor and capital inputs, evidence policies, and other agency characteristics affect

the number of sexual assault kits (SAKs) submitted to crime laboratories for testing.

We examine to what extent agencies are submitting the maximum number of SAKs

possible, given their available resources. Stochastic frontier models are used to

analyze the productivity of labor inputs for the submission of SAKs and the extent

to which resource inefficiencies contribute to unsubmitted SAKs. Results indicate

that agencies are submitting fewer than 60% of SAKs that are possible given their

resources. Full-time sworn officers were found to be productive inputs, as the

number of SAKs submitted increases by 24% for every 100% increase in the number

of officers. Findings also suggest that the accumulation of SAKs is driven partially by

technical inefficiencies but more so by a lack of resources.

Keywords

sexual assault kits, rape kits, sexual assault victimization

1RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Joshua A. Hendrix, Youth, Violence Prevention & Community Justice Program, Division for Applied

Justice Research, RTI International, 3040 E. Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park,

NC 27709, USA.

Email: jhendrix@rti.org

884730CJPXXX10.1177/0887403419884730Criminal Justice Policy ReviewHendrix et al.

research-article2019

1096 Criminal Justice Policy Review 31(7)

Over the past decade, an increasing amount of attention has focused on unsubmitted

sexual assault kits (SAKs) that accrue in law enforcement agencies. Many sexual

assaults are never reported to the police (Langton, Berzofsky, Krebs, & Smiley-

McDonald, 2012). However, when cases are reported, the criminal justice system is

expected to aggressively investigate and prosecute reported sexual assaults to deliver

justice for victims and also to demonstrate these crimes are treated with highest prior-

ity. Nevertheless, in some cases, justice may be delayed, in part because crime labora-

tories lack the capacity to process forensic evidence in a timely manner. In other cases,

justice can be denied because forensic evidence is never submitted to a laboratory for

analysis by the agency (Strom & Hickman, 2010).

Instances of justice denied are especially concerning, given the established benefits

of testing forensic evidence (R. Campbell, Patterson, Bybee, & Dworkin, 2009;

Johnson, Peterson, Sommers, & Baskin, 2012; Nelson, 2010; Peterson, Johnson, Herz,

Graziano, & Oehler, 2012; Randol & Sanders, 2015; Ritter, 2012b). Testing SAKs can

help identify previously unidentified offenders in unsolved crimes, corroborate identi-

ties in known offender assaults within and across cases, identify serial sexual offend-

ers, and exonerate individuals who have been wrongly accused (R. Campbell, Feeney,

Fehler-Cabral, Shaw, & Horsford, 2017). Studies have found that 50% to 60% of

SAKs contain biological evidence that does not belong to the victim (Ritter, 2011), and

the presence of forensic evidence is associated with an increased likelihood that arrests

are made and charges are filed (Horney & Spohn, 1996; Peterson, Sommers, Baskin,

& Johnson, 2010; but see Spohn & Tellis, 2012).

Law enforcement plays a critical role in either promoting or preventing justice for

victims of sexual assault. The law enforcement role includes not only the initial

response and interaction with the victim and investigative follow-up opportunities but

also the crime scene processing and SAK evidence collection and submission deci-

sions. However, little is known about whether and how the practices, policies, or char-

acteristics of agencies are associated with the handling of SAKs and their movement

through the system. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent agencies’ efforts to submit

SAKs for testing are hampered by technical inefficiencies (i.e., inefficient uses of

available resources), insufficient resources (e.g., too few staff members), or both.

The study of SAK processing efficiency in the criminal justice system is important

for several reasons. First, this type of analysis can help identify and contextualize the

factors that contribute to the backlog of unsubmitted SAKs that remain in law enforce-

ment custody. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it can identify and describe the

conditions that help agencies move kits effectively from collection to submission to

the crime laboratory. Ultimately, these results can help put state and local law enforce-

ment leaders and their partners in a position to successfully process SAKs through the

system in a timely manner and fully leverage the valuable evidence for investigating

and prosecuting these cases. It can also encourage law enforcement to implement the

resources, practices, and policies necessary to support and engage victims.

Drawing on results from a nationally representative survey of 321 law enforcement

agencies, we assess how labor and capital inputs, evidence policies, and other agency

characteristics affect the number of SAKs that agencies submit for testing. We also