News

CA Attorney General’s Office to Receive National Recognition for Innovation in Rape Kit Testing

Published

10 years ago

April 8, 2014

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced this week that the California Attorney General’s office will receive the United States Department of Justice’s Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services for its successful efforts to improve the DNA analysis of rape kits by law enforcement agencies.

The California Attorney General’s Rapid DNA Service Team (RADS) will receive the award during the Department of Justice’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Service Awards ceremony on April 9th in Washington, D.C.

“Victims of sexual assault deserve swift justice,” Attorney General Harris said. “The Rapid DNA Service Team’s technology gives law enforcement a critical tool to quickly identify perpetrators and prevent these dangerous individuals from victimizing more people. On behalf of all Californians, I thank our RADS team for their innovation and dedication.”

The RADS Team, part of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Forensic Services, developed a program in 2011 that improves the traditional process by which rape kits are tested and reduces the processing time to within 15 days. This program currently operates in eight counties across the state including Butte, Lake, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.

The program allows for the processing of evidence from sexual assault cases within 15 days from the start of analysis and uses automation to reduce processing time, allowing for a threefold increase in casework capacity. This process includes the upload of DNA profiles into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System to search for unknown suspects.

In her first year in office, Attorney General Harris eliminated a long standing backlog of untested rape kits in state-run labs, which included 1,300 DNA cases. Along with committing additional resources to the labs, Attorney General Harris introduced new technology that dramatically increased the speed with which cases are analyzed.

In January 2012, Attorney General Harris announced that, for the first time ever, the backlog of untested DNA evidence in state labs had been eliminated.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:Attorney General Kamala Harris CA DNA RADS rape kit testing Rapid DNA Service Team

Up Next

Bill to Reform Solitary Confinement in State Prisons

Don't Miss

Judy Belk Appointed as CEO of The California Wellness Foundation

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.