ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has reached a milestone in its ongoing efforts to provide forensic testing services in criminal sexual conduct cases. The BCA has finished testing all kits submitted by local law enforcement agencies related to a 2015 inventory of untested sexual assault kits. 

“The BCA continues to look for ways to provide improved processes for victim survivors, local law enforcement agencies and in our own laboratories so that we can best serve victim survivors and the agencies investigating the incidents,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said. “These projects and steps illustrate our commitment to that continual improvement.” 

This work was part of the BCA’s larger, ongoing effort to create processes, programs and staffing models that best serve sexual assault victim survivors and the investigations. 

• Testing complete on 2015 statewide kit inventory: Law enforcement agencies were asked in 2015 to account for all untested kits that existed at their agencies. The BCA then carried out a plan to test the kits. In all:
  • Sexual assault kits reported at local agencies in 2015: 3,482*
  • Sexual assault kits from 2015 inventory submitted to BCA for testing: 2,366
  • DNA profiles obtained from the kits that matched persons in the convicted offender DNA database: 357 (Approximately 130 of the hits involved persons not previously identified in a case.)
• Kit testing turnaround time improvements: While the demand for forensic testing of evidence remains high, the BCA has redoubled its efforts to find process improvements, staffing adjustments and funding to increase kit-testing capacity.
  • As a result, the BCA anticipates reaching a 90-day turnaround time on sexual assault kits sometime this fall. 
  • In addition, the 2023 Legislature passed and Governor Tim Walz signed into law $8 million ($4.5 million for July 2023 through June 2024 and $3.5 million ongoing) for BCA staff and equipment to further reduce turnaround times for all laboratory testing including DNA, latent print analysis and analysis of digital and multimedia evidence.  
• Sexual assault kit tracking program established: The BCA developed and deployed a new sexual assault kit tracking program that provides victim survivors with real-time, online access to information about the status of their sexual assault kit. The BCA deployed Track-Kit statewide one year ago this month with cooperation from local law enforcement agencies and medical facilities to increase accountability and transparency about kit collection, testing and status. The BCA is in the process of adding more details to Track-Kit about testing timelines to give victim survivors a better understanding of how long testing will take.  
• Restricted kits now held at the BCA: The BCA established a new, statewide process for storing restricted kits – those kits that victim survivors chose to not have tested. In the past, these kits were held at medical facilities or law enforcement agencies across Minnesota. Now they are all securely stored at the BCA. At any time, victim survivors can choose to convert restricted kits to unrestricted, enabling a testing process to begin. Since the BCA launched this process in 2021, medical facilities and law enforcement agencies have sent 1,348 restricted kits to the BCA for storage. Victim survivors can confirm the status of their restricted kit at any time in Track-Kit.  

 “The BCA has been an important law enforcement partner with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office. They have played a crucial role in aiding us during the past several years with our untested sexual assault kits leading to convictions of offenders and justice for victims.  We look forward to continuing our valued partnership so that those who commit sexual violence are held accountable,” said Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise. 

“Since 2015, the BCA, Duluth Police Department, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office, and the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA) have partnered through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to test sexual assault kits, improve our response to victim-survivors, and implement sustainable reforms,” said Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa. “The timely testing of kits is crucial to victims’ participation in investigations, their sense of safety, and the safety of our community. The work is on-going, and we will continue to collaborate with the BCA and our partners to assess and implement promising practices for our response to sexual violence.”   

“MPD is committed to a careful focus on survivors during investigations of criminal sexual conduct cases. The partnership with the BCA has been crucial in achieving that focus as everyone involved continually strives to provide justice and support for the survivors whose lives have been impacted. MPD is truly grateful for the time and effort by the BCA to reach this milestone. Their dedication and level of experience have directly benefited survivors within the City of Minneapolis as well as across the state of Minnesota,” Minneapolis Chief of Police Brian O’Hara said. 

Much of the 2015 sexual assault kit inventory was tested under the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Project federal grants, which are administered by DPS’ Office of Justice Programs (OJP).  

“We are pleased that OJP’s collaboration with our partners, including funding to victim-serving programs, assisted with improving overall process and outcomes,” said OJP Executive Director Kate Weeks. 

*   This does not include an additional 1,700 unsubmitted kits reported by Minneapolis Police Department in 2019, which are being tested separately.