1.    The state crime laboratory shall develop and implement a statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system. The director of the state crime laboratory may contract with public or private entities, including private software and technology providers for the creation, operation, and maintenance of the system.

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-12-24.1

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • 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.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33

2.    All medical providers, law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, or other persons or entities that collect evidence for, or receive, store, analyze, maintain, or preserve sexual assault kits, shall participate in the statewide sexual assault evidence collection 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 the state crime laboratory.

3.    The statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system must:

a.    Track the location and status of each sexual assault kit throughout the criminal justice process, including the initial collection during examinations performed at medical facilities, receipt and storage at law enforcement agencies, receipt and analysis at forensic laboratories, storage, and any destruction of the kit after the applicable evidence is analyzed; b.    Allow participating entities that have custody of sexual assault kits to update and track the status and location of the kits; c.    Allow victims of sexual assault to track or receive updates anonymously regarding the status of their sexual assault kits; and

d.    Use electronic or other technologies that allow for continuous access.

4.    The state crime laboratory may phase in the requirement of initial participation in the statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system according to region,    volume of sexual assault forensic evidence kits, or other appropriate classifications. All law enforcement agencies, medical providers, forensic laboratories, or other persons that collect evidence for, or receive, store, analyze, maintain, or preserve sexual assault forensic evidence kits are required to participate fully in the tracking system within one year of the tracking system’s initial date of operation.

5.    Annually, the state crime laboratory shall post a report on the statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system on the attorney general’s website. The report must include the:

a.    Total number of sexual assault kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction; b.    Total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits where forensic analysis has been completed both statewide and by jurisdiction; c.    Number of sexual assault kits added to the system in the reporting period both statewide and by jurisdiction; d.    Total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits where forensic analysis has been requested but not completed both statewide and by jurisdiction; and

e.    Total and semiannual number of sexual assault kits destroyed or removed from the system both statewide and by jurisdiction.

6.    Records and information within the tracking system described in this section are exempt from disclosure under section 44-04-18.

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