ENROLLED
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 26
BY REPRESENTATIVE MORENO
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the Louisiana attorney
general to study and make recommendations on the implementation of and protocols
for the effective use of a sexual assault collection kit tracking system in Louisiana,
and to report their findings to the legislature no later than January 1, 2018.
WHEREAS, national studies indicate that approximately one in five women are
victims of rape in their lifetime and approximately one in twenty women suffer other sexual
assaults; and
WHEREAS, victims often turn to hospitals and local law enforcement agencies for
help, and because of the sense of urgency in collecting evidence of a sexual assault from a
victim's body, the victim must undergo examinations and questioning immediately after the
commission of the assault by healthcare professionals and law enforcement officials who are
attempting to collect evidence of the crime; and
WHEREAS, sexual assault collection kits are designed to assist in the preservation
of human biological specimen or specimens collected during a forensic medical examination
from the victim of a sexual assault; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the state of Washington enacted legislation establishing a
statewide sexual assault collection kit tracking system; and
WHEREAS, Washington's system tracks the location and status of sexual assault kits
throughout the criminal justice process, allows medical facilities performing sexual assault
forensic examinations, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and other entities in custody
of the kits to update and track the status and location of the kits, allows victims of sexual
assault to anonymously track or receive updates regarding the status of their kits, and uses
electronic technology allowing continuous access; and
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WHEREAS, it is important that sexual assault victims have access to information
about the status of their sexual assault collection kits; and
WHEREAS, a sexual assault collection kit tracking system would provide the state
with comprehensive information about the amount of kits submitted, the testing status of the
kits, and testing time frames; and
WHEREAS, it is crucial that as the tracking system develops, victim privacy is
strictly upheld to protect the victim's identity and safety.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the Louisiana attorney general
to study and make recommendations on the implementation of and protocols for the effective
use of a sexual assault collection kit tracking system, and to report their findings to the
legislature no later than January 1, 2018.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the
Louisiana attorney general are to identify all other crime labs in Louisiana, in addition to the
Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, that analyze sexual assault collection kits.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the
Louisiana attorney general are to study and report the costs of implementation and use of a
sexual assault collection kit tracking system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the
Louisiana attorney general are to study and report the benefits of using a sexual assault
collection kit tracking system and to review programs and protocols from other jurisdictions
throughout the United States, to identify best practices from those jurisdictions that have
successfully implemented and used a sexual assault collection kit tracking system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in studying and developing the
recommendations for the implementation of a sexual assault collection kit tracking system
in Louisiana, the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the Louisiana attorney general are
to solicit and obtain input from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Criminal Justice, the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault,
Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response, and other stakeholders, including but not limited
to healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies, crime labs that analyze sexual assault
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collection kits, and prosecutors, as are necessary for the implementation of a sexual assault
collection kit tracking system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Resolution be transmitted
to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab and the Louisiana attorney general.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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