March 14, 2023
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Police in New Jersey must keep and store physical evidence from rape cases for 20 years as part of a larger effort to solve more cases and process more rape kits, according to a policy directive issued by Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
New Jersey police must keep and store physical evidence in rape cases for 20 years as part of a larger effort to identify more perpetrators and process more rape kits, officials said on Monday.
The policy change is part of a directive issued by Attorney General Matthew Platkin, which extends the evidence storage period from five years to two decades. It also establishes requirements for tracking when evidence from rape kits — medical exams that provide DNA samples and forensic evidence for sexual assault and rape investigations — is submitted for laboratory testing.
The directive limits the circumstances in which police officers and prosecutors can decline to submit evidence for testing as well. Under the directive, law enforcement officials cannot decline to submit samples because they believe that the sexual act was consensual, they do not have any suspects or the survivor filed a complaint against a current or former spouse or partner.
"We recognize that sexual assault is one of the most traumatic events an individual may experience and it is imperative that we preserve survivors' right to pursue justice at a time when they feel ready," Platkin said. "The standards and procedures established in this directive ensure that if or when that time comes — whether it's immediately after an assault or years down the road — their cases will be vigorously investigated by law enforcement and their opportunity to hold perpetrators accountable will not be foreclosed because evidence is no longer viable or has been destroyed."
Platkin's directive acknowledges that much of its policy orders stem from a report issued by the state auditor in 2019, which found that unlike most states, New Jersey does not have a backlog of rape kits. Still, it recommended changes to the state's handling and tracking of kits and other physical evidence.
A separate report, released by the Attorney General's Office on Monday, found that most of the untested rape kits in New Jersey are "hold" kits, meaning the victim did not consent to the test being submitted to law enforcement.
Survivors of rape and sexual assault are able to choose whether they want to submit DNA samples from rape kits to aid in police investigations. Through the longer evidence storage period, the directive aims to allow victims more time to process the event and determine whether they want to seek justice for their assault.
For victims who are under 18 at the time of their assault, the untested rape kits will be kept for 20 years after they turn 18.
Investigators can decline to test samples if they determine that the results of the lab test will have no bearing on the outcome of the case, or if the victim withdraws consent for the evidence to be released to police. In those cases, the rape kit will continue to be held for the same 20-year period.
"The FBI recognizes sexual assault as the second most violent crime, second only to murder," said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance. "With the issuance of today's directive, New Jersey has created a survivor-centered policy that recognizes the trauma impact of this particular type of victimization."
Platkin's directive also requires each agency overseeing the rape kits to document processing in order to show a chain of custody and ensure that the results are being processed efficiently. As each of the state's 21 prosecutor offices have different resources for processing kits — and most have no system for informing survivors that their rape kits were tested, New Jersey Monitor reported — officials must find ways to centralize their systems in order to align with the directive.
The directive is part of a larger effort to improve the handling of rape and sexual assault cases, about two-thirds of which go unsolved, NJ.com reported. Many rapes and sexual assault are not reported to police for a variety of reasons, including fear of retaliation and believing that police will not do anything to help, according to RAINN.
