SC sexual assault kit tracking system is 'inefficient', report says

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The Legislative Oversight Council of the South Carolina General Assembly conducted an audit of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s sexual assault kit tracking system and found that improvements need to be made.

SLED’s tracking system, called Track-Kit, allows sexual assault victims to track kits sent to the department from distribution to collection, processing and storage. It also allows them to view the location and status of their kit.

LAC officials said SLED implemented its tracking system late, launching the Track-Kit on Feb. 20, 2024, almost 21 months after the June 1, 2022 deadline required by state law. They also said SLED did not communicate adequately with other agencies and had only two working group meetings on the system.

Legislators also noted that SLED’s Track-Kit database is incomplete, with only 763 total kits in the system as of July 1, 2024, and 1,987 kits awaiting testing in the SLED lab as of October 2023.

The audit also revealed larger trends regarding sexual assault kits; specifically that the number of sexual assault nurse examiners in South Carolina is lacking.

The audit also noted that South Carolina does not require a specific time frame for any phase of the sexual assault kit processing process, meaning wait times for test results in the Palmetto State are longer than in many other states.

The Legislative Oversight Council said it reached those conclusions after surveying system users, law enforcement, medical facilities, forensic laboratories and sexual assault nurse examiners.

“South Carolina’s sexual assault statistics and Track-Kit data demonstrate that the current system for investigating sexual assault crimes is inefficient,” the summary report states. “Justice is delayed or denied for victims, many of whom are under the age of 18.”

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