South Carolina § 23-3-1300 - Statewide sexual assault kit tracking system.

§ 23-3-1300. Statewide sexual assault kit tracking system.

(A) The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) shall create and operate a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system. SLED may contract with state or nonstate entities including, but not limited to, private software and technology providers, for the creation, operation, and maintenance of the system.

(B) All medical facilities, law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, or other persons or entities that collect evidence for, or receive, store, analyze, maintain, or preserve sexual assault kits, must participate in the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system for the purpose of tracking the location and status of all sexual assault kits in their custody. Participation must begin according to the implementation schedule established by SLED.

(C) The statewide sexual assault kit tracking system must:

(1) track the location and status of sexual assault kits throughout the criminal justice process, including the initial collection in examinations performed at medical facilities, receipt and storage at law enforcement agencies, receipt and analysis at forensic laboratories, and storage and any destruction after completion of analysis;

(2) allow participating entities who have custody of sexual assault kits to update and track the status and location of the kits;

(3) allow victims of sexual assault to anonymously track or receive updates regarding the status of their sexual assault kits; and

(4) use electronic or other technologies which allow for continuous access.

(D) SLED may use a phased implementation process in order to launch the system and facilitate entry and use of the system for entities required to participate pursuant to subsection (B). SLED may phase in initial participation according to region, volume, or other appropriate classifications. All entities must participate fully in the system no later than June 1, 2022. SLED shall submit a report on the current status and plan for launching the system, including the plan for phased implementation, to the House and Senate Judiciary committees and the Governor by January 1, 2021.

(E) SLED shall submit a semiannual report on the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system to the House and Senate Judiciary committees and the Governor. SLED may publish the current report on its website. The first report is due July 31, 2022, and subsequent reports are due January thirty-first and July thirty-first of each year. The report must include the:

(1) total number of sexual assault kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction;

(2) total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits where forensic analysis has been completed statewide and by jurisdiction;

(3) number of sexual assault kits added to the system in the reporting period statewide and by jurisdiction;

(4) total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits where forensic analysis has been requested but not completed statewide and by jurisdiction;

(5) average and median length of time for sexual assault kits to be submitted for forensic analysis after being added to the system, including separate sets of data for all sexual assault kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction and for sexual assault kits added to the system in the reporting period statewide and by jurisdiction;

(6) average and median length of time for forensic analysis to be completed on sexual assault kits after being submitted for analysis, including separate sets of data for all sexual assault kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction and for sexual assault kits added to the system in the reporting period statewide and by jurisdiction;

(7) total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits destroyed or removed from the system statewide and by jurisdiction;

(8) total number of sexual assault kits, statewide and by jurisdiction, where forensic analysis has not been completed and six months or more have passed since those sexual assault kits were added to the system; and

(9) total number of sexual assault kits, statewide and by jurisdiction, where forensic analysis has not been completed and one year or more has passed since those sexual assault kits were added to the system.

(F) For the purpose of reports under subsection (E), a sexual assault kit must be assigned to the jurisdiction associated with the law enforcement agency anticipated to receive the sexual assault kit or otherwise in custody of the sexual assault kit.

(G) SLED shall establish guidelines to ensure that the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system protects victim information from disclosure to nonparticipating entities. Except as otherwise required for reporting under subsection (E), information maintained in the statewide sexual assault kit tracking system is confidential and not a public record as defined in Section 30-4-20(C).

HISTORY: 2020 Act No. 134 (H.3309), SECTION 1, eff May 14, 2020.