(a) The department shall establish a Hawaii sexual assault response and training program that shall consist of members who are directly involved with the use, management, and testing of sexual assault evidence collection kits, or are involved with, communicate with, or otherwise support sexual assault victims, including but not limited to the respective police departments of each county, the state or county Combined DNA Index System administrator, the respective prosecuting attorney departments of each county, and sexual assault service providers.
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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-2

  • Combined DNA Index System: means the FBI's program of support for criminal justice DNA databases as well as the software used to run these databases. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
  • county: includes the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-22
  • Department: means the department of the attorney general. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
  • DNA: means deoxyribonucleic acid. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Medical forensic examination: means an examination provided to a victim of a suspected sexual assault by a health care provider to address medical concerns resulting from the sexual assault and to collect and preserve evidence that may be used in a police investigation and any subsequent prosecution. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
  • Sexual assault evidence collection kit: means a kit that contains a human biological specimen or specimens collected by a health care provider during a medical forensic examination from the victim of a suspected criminal sexual offense. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
  • Status: refers to the location, date, and time that a sexual assault evidence collection kit is transferred within the chain of custody. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 844G-1
(b) The Hawaii sexual assault response and training program shall have regularly scheduled meetings to strengthen the coordinated community response and level of quality care for victims of sexual assault, and shall develop and maintain:

(1) Specific guidelines for all medical forensic examinations in the State that shall be issued to all sex assault programs and centers, county contractors, and any other facilities that perform medical forensic examinations;
(2) A protocol for the collection of forensic evidence included within a sexual assault evidence collection kit;
(3) A statewide standard data set, including status and location information that all counties shall include in their respective sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking systems;
(4) Policies and procedures for sex assault programs and centers, county contractors, and any other facilities that retain sexual assault evidence collection kits under this chapter regarding proper preservation, transfer, tracking, and disposal of kits; and
(5) Appropriate language for disclosures that shall be made to any person undergoing a medical forensic examination, including but not limited to the length of time a kit may be stored or retained, the point at which a kit may be disposed, and the person’s ability to access the status of their kit through the appropriate county tracking system.
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