California § 13823.14 - The Department of Justice

§ 13823.14. The Department of Justice

(a) The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services, the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, and the California Association of Criminalists shall provide leadership and work collaboratively with public crime laboratories to develop a standardized sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit for use by all California jurisdictions. The packaging and appearance of the kit may vary, but the kit shall contain a minimum number of basic components and also clearly permit swabs or representative evidence samples to be earmarked for a rapid turnaround DNA program, as defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 680, when applicable. (b) The collaboration to establish the basic components for a standardized sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit should be completed by January 30, 2018, and shall be conducted in conjunction with the California Clinical Forensic Medical Training Center, authorized by Section 13823.93, that is responsible for the development of sexual assault forensic medical examination procedures and sexual assault standardized forensic medical report forms and for providing training programs. (c) On or before May 30, 2019, the California Clinical Forensic Medical Training Center, in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services, the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, and the California Association of Criminalists, shall issue guidelines pertaining to the use of the standardized sexual assault kit components throughout the state. (d) Every local and state agency shall remain responsible for its own costs in purchasing a standardized sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit.