| SAKI HOME | TOOLKIT | WEBINARS | VIRTUAL ACADEMY |
Notifications
| ||
| SAKI HOME | TOOLKIT | WEBINARS | VIRTUAL ACADEMY |
Notifications
| ||
In FY2020, the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety received $918,058 in SAKI funding to assist with sexual assault cases—including active unresolved cases, as well as cold cases from 2003 or prior. The funding is being utilized for testing and/or retesting evidence items, budgeting for training and overtime, enhancing victim services, and paying for travel related to engagements with persons of interest. A full-time site coordinator has also been hired. Since 2003, the New Jersey State Police have been able to resolve 98% of cases that have sexual assault-related evidence available.
In FY2022, the State of New Jersey was awarded an additional $1.5 million of funding to continue the re-investigation and prosecution efforts on approximately 59 sexual assault and sexual-related homicides. Additionally, funding will be utilized to support personnel, training, investigative travel, enhanced victim services, and maintaining compliance with recommendations from the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP). Specifically, a significant amount of project funding will be used for advanced DNA testing methodologies, such as DNA phenotyping, forensic genetic genealogy, and kinship testing.
In FY2023, SAKI awarded the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety $2 million to develop and launch a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system. This system will require all law enforcement agencies and forensic nurse examiner programs across the state to enter and track every Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) kit currently in their possession and all future kits turned over to them. The tracking system will provide every victim of sexual assault with the ability to track the progress of their kit and case. Additionally, the new system will allow monitoring of kits from collection through processing to aid in better identification of delays in submission or analysis and to improve collaboration with other tracking systems including the Combined DNA Index System and ViCAP. Funds will also be used to expand long-term storage capacity for SAFE kits. New Jersey is committed to collaboration with stakeholders including prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, victim advocacy agencies, healthcare providers, and victims and survivors to optimize the handling of sexual assault kits in New Jersey and ensure that the needs of all involved, particularly victims, are met.
In FY2023, SAKI awarded the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) $1.4 million to support the investigation of unsolved violent cold case crimes through advanced DNA testing, research methodologies, and investigative tools. With the increasing cost of advanced technology platforms and the limited capacity of NJSP to use these platforms, grant funds for testing are essential to assist with the necessary efforts to reinvestigate unsolved violent cold case crimes. NJSP will use funds for (a) testing or retesting evidence items in these cases; (b) training and overtime; (c) enhancing victim services; (d) travel costs associated to engagements with persons of interest; and (e) case review and further analysis of the violent cold case crimes. Detectives from the NJSP Cold Case Unit will work in partnership with the Cold Case Regional Task Force, the NJSP Office of Forensic Sciences, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, prosecutor's offices throughout New Jersey, and victim advocates.
For more information on the specific SAKI awards for this site, see the table below.
| Year | Amount | Purpose Area |
|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $918,058 | Investigation and Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults |
| FY2022 | $1,500,000 | Investigation and Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults |
| FY2023 | $2,000,000 | Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits |
| FY2023 | $1,400,000 | National Cold Case Initiative |
Please direct all media inquiries to:
AG Platkin Announces $2 Million in Federal Funding to Offer Survivors of Sexual Assault a Way to Track the Progress of Their Case
— Office of the Attorney General – Matthew J. Platkin, Nov 3, 2023
"Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced the receipt of $2 million in competitive federal funding to establish an advanced tracking system for the state’s Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) Kits. SAFE Kits are used to preserve physical evidence collected from medical forensic examinations conducted by qualified nurses after an individual has experienced an act of sexual violence. This endeavor is part of an ongoing commitment to provide victims of sexual abuse with support and transparency in navigating the criminal justice process."
Arrest made in 1996 sex assault of girl during home invasion, police say
— NJ.com, Sep 17, 2021
A man was charged this week with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl during a Jersey Shore home invasion 25 years ago after investigators used DNA evidence and FGG to identify the attacker, authorities said.
Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative aims to create a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to sexual assault cases. Through this program, funding is provided to support multidisciplinary community response teams engaged in the comprehensive reform of jurisdictions approaches to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits.
