(a) As used in this section, “forensic medical examination”, “hold kit”, “law enforcement agency”, “sexual assault evidence collection kit”, and “victim” have the same meaning as defined in § 39-13-519.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 38-6-128
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.
Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall procure and implement an electronic system that tracks the location and laboratory analysis status of each sexual assault evidence collection kit and hold kit released to a law enforcement agency at the conclusion of a forensic medical examination on or after July 1, 2022.(c) The system must have the capacity to allow a victim to track by internet the location and status of the victim’s sexual assault evidence collection kit by use of a tracking number provided to the victim by the law enforcement agency receiving the sexual assault evidence collection kit after the conclusion of the forensic medical examination. At any time, the victim must be able to use the tracking number by inputting the tracking number into an online system to determine the current location and laboratory analysis status of the victim’s sexual assault evidence collection kit.(d) The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall create a written pamphlet explaining how to access and use the tracking system. The law enforcement agency described in subsection (c) must provide the pamphlet to the victim with the tracking number.(e) Records and information contained in the tracking system pursuant to this section are confidential and not a public record.
