Total SAKs Tested and Reviewed

10,129

CODIS Matches

2,330

Message from Attorney General

Image of Attorney General Bob Ferguson

Sexual assault survivors deserve justice.

Sexual assault is a devastating crime that affects thousands of Washingtonians. Each sexual assault kit tells a story from a survivor that must be heard. My office’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative project, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, is part of a coordinated, statewide effort to test every single backlogged sexual assault kit in the state.

Testing these kits will identify serial rapists and provide answers to survivors and their families.

This website will serve as a resource to the public throughout the project. Here you’ll find progress updates, information on trainings, important data on sexual assault kits, and resources for survivors.

In Washington, the State Patrol Crime Lab oversees the testing of all of the state’s DNA evidence. This project would not be possible without the partnership of the Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies.

Sincerely,

Bob Ferguson
Washington State Attorney General

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative?
The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is a statewide effort to address the accumulation of unsubmitted sexual assault kits in the possession of local law enforcement agencies and hospitals. This project is a collaborative effort among law enforcement, victim advocates, sexual assault nurse examiners, prosecutors, health care systems, the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
What is a CODIS Match?
  • Sexual Assault Kits with a CODIS Match: The foreign DNA profile from the sexual assault kit that was uploaded into the Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS) matched the DNA profile of one or more DNA profiles within CODIS. This number can continually change as matches can happen indefinitely into the future. A match can be either a forensic match or an offender hit.

Please Note: For this purpose, all CODIS hits (both forensic and offender) are counted regardless of whether they provide a specific investigative lead for a particular case. The CODIS hit count includes each individual DNA profile match between cases, as well as each DNA profile match belonging to an offender. The metric 'total number of hits' is utilized to be able to demonstrate case connectivity and where hits are generating by county and those originating in other states. This may differ from how CODIS hits are counted for other reporting purposes.

  • Forensic Match: The foreign DNA profile from the sexual assault kit that was uploaded into CODIS matched a DNA profile in the forensic index. The forensic index contains evidentiary profiles from crimes and are connected to incidents or cases and not to specific individuals.  Therefore, these matches represent connections between cases and may not provide information which identifies a suspect.
  • Offender hit: The foreign DNA profile from the sexual assault kit that was uploaded into CODIS matched a DNA profile in the offender or arrestee index. The offender and arrestee indexes contain DNA profiles obtained at the time of arrest or conviction and are connected to a named individual. For the purposes of this project, offender hits can be classified as cold or warm hits. This terminology and sub-classification is different than current FBI/CODIS terminology. 
How can I find out if my Sexual Assault Kit is part of the backlog of untested kits?

Survivors with questions can reach the Washington State Attorney General's WA SAKI team at: 833-753-0900.

Who can I contact to find out more information about this project?

For media and general inquires please contact:

Brionna Aho

Communications Director

Brionna.Aho@atg.wa.gov

360-753-2727

Survivors with questions please contact:

833-753-0900

Where can I find resources to help me?

Click here to see a list of community sexual assault programs in Washington State.

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