Research
Kentucky Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Kit Backlog Research Project
In 2017, The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Victims Advocacy provided funding for the Kentucky SAFE Kit Backlog Research Project to examine the problem of previously unsubmitted SAFE kits. The research team is collecting information to understand the factors that contributed to the number of unsubmitted SAFE kits, the characteristics associated with SAFE kits, kit submission rates throughout the Commonwealth, as well as testing results and case outcomes.
The 2016 SAFE Act called for annual reports to the Kentucky General Assembly related to the submission and testing of SAFE kits and the reporting of incidents of sexual assault in Kentucky.
The Cost of Not Testing SAFE Kits: An Economic Harm Study
The 2016 SAFE Act also called for an analysis of the crimes committed by perpetrators identified during the effort to test previously untested SAFE kits. It was anticipated that such a study would demonstrate that the cost of crimes committed by these sexual assault perpetrators is far greater than the cost of providing sufficient annual funding to the Forensic Laboratory and ensuring offenders are caught and prosecuted in a timely manner.