AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) received a $90,000 stop grant to fund a new sexual assault kit tracking pilot program.
The program will provide a sexual assault tracking system for people who report incidents of sexual assault in Kennebec and Penobscot counties.
Maine is one of few states that does not have a sexual assault forensics examination or SAFE kit tracking system.
SAFE kits are completed after an apparent victim of sexual assault makes a report to law enforcement.
There were bills approved earlier this year that would have funded SAFE kit tracking systems statewide, but those bills never received a full vote before the legislative session ended.
The program, although spearheaded by MECASA, will rely on resources provided through the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office, Augusta Police Department, Bangor Police Department, Kennebec and Penobscot counties' district's attorney's offices, MaineGeneral Medical Center, and St. Joseph Hospital to complete SAFE kit processing.
"Some people forget about the victims. I do not," Kennebec County Sheriff Ken Mason said.
Mason and other leaders in the state like Kennebec and Somerset County district attorney Maeghan Maloney support the change in hopes that the pilot program will help victims of sexual assault regain their power.
The sexual assault tracking system will improve the way victims of sexual assault receive updates about SAFE kits, Maloney said.
"Two-thirds of states already have a safe kit tracking system," she explained. "So, Maine is a bit behind; however, we are catching right up."
Many agree that there needs to be a better and faster way to process rape kits. Currently, when someone reports an incident of sexual assault to law enforcement, a SAFE kit is completed. The SAFE kit begins at the Maine State Police (MSP) lab. The kit is then transported to a hospital for testing, and then it is sent back to the MSP lab before landing at its final destination—the police station.
Because there is no statewide tracking system, when someone wants to receive updates about where their SAFE kit is, they have to call the detective working the case directly using a SAFE kit number that is attached to their file.
"It's where is your kit in the timeline? Is it at the police department? Has it been received by the lab? Is the testing done?" Maloney said.
Maloney said often, people believed to be victims of sexual assault end up having to speak with multiple people to get updates or information. The tracking system will eliminate the hassle for individuals who report sexual assault in Kennebec and Penobscot counties.
"They don't want to have to always call to find the detective who is assigned to their case to get the update on where their kit is in the process," Maloney said.
Through the program, supposed victims who report incidents of sexual assault in the two counties will have access to a web-based information system that they can log on to at any time and from anywhere using their safe kit number.
MECASA Systems Advocacy Coordinator Calie Fischer said the tracking system will allow victims and survivors of sexual assault to take some control that they have lost back.
"When somebody has something violent happen to them, for so many people, one of the hardest parts is that it feels like there's really that loss of choice and agency and someone has taken something from them," Fischer said.
The site will go live on Nov. 4. While victims will be able to see the kit's process through the web-based tracking system, they will not be able to see the results of the kit.
Maloney said results will still be communicated to people in a sensitive, trauma-informed way.
Fischer said Sen. Rick Bennett has already re-filed a bill to be considered in the upcoming legislature that will fund a statewide SAFE kit tracking system if passed.