These new Louisiana laws are helpful to sexual assault victims

BATON ROUGE, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Two new state laws being implemented in July 2024 are helping victims of sexual assaults track the status’ of their sexual assault kits.

The laws also provide time limits for officials to retrieve sexual assault kits from medical facilities and turn the kits over to crime labs.

The new legislation, authored by Senator Beth Mizell, requires the implementation of the new program by July 1, 2024.

The Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Tracking System program allows sexual assault survivors to track the status of their SAK throughout the justice system from the time it is collected and tested until it’s back in the hands of law enforcement.

Because of the laws, survivors of sexual assaults will now be able to track their kits anonymously. And the kits have no personal information attached to them that reveals the identities of victims.

All law enforcement agencies, crime labs, SANE/medical personnel, and prosecutors are required to participate in the program.

The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab has also launched a new statewide Sexual Assault Kit Tracking Program as a result of the actions taken during the 2023 and 2024 Legislative Sessions.

A Survivor Portal and Tracking System are available on the Louisiana State Police website. Just go to the Services tab to find the portal.

Senator Mizell also authored Senate Bill 124 (ACT 669) during the 2024 Regular Legislative Session. The act has now been signed into law by Governor Landry.

The new bill creates a “Survivors Bill of Rights” that requires agencies to take possession of kits within 72 hours of collection at a medical facility.

The kits must then be submitted to crime labs for forensic analysis within 30 days.