Connecticut

In 2015, the Connecticut Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations ("Commission") completed a one-time survey of law enforcement agencies and found 1,188 untested kits across the state. In the same year, Governor Dannel Malloy established a multidisciplinary working group to coordinate the tracking and testing of these kits. While Connecticut law does not require law enforcement agencies to count or track kits, a statewide tracking system has been developed.

In 2015, Connecticut enacted a law that requires rape kits to be sent to the state crime lab within 10 days of collection and tested within 60 days. 

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded $1,401,966 to the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to test kits, investigate and prosecute cases, and re-engage survivors. In 2017, the BJA awarded the DESPP an additional $1,847,559 to support the testing of "partially tested" kits, which were never fully analyzed.

In 2017, Governor Malloy announced that, of the 1,188 untested kits identified in 2015, all have been transferred to the state crime lab for testing, and 75% have been tested. In addition, the state has contracted with UPS to develop a new barcode system to track all new rape kits collected at hospitals.

In 2018, legislators introduced a bill that mandates the creation of an electronic, statewide tracking system for rape kits by October 1, 2018 and requires the Commission to develop policies to ensure sexual assault survivors can access information regarding the testing status of their rape kits.

TAKE ACTION TODAY TO BRING FURTHER RAPE KIT REFORM TO CONNECTICUT