SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE
COLLECTION KIT (SAECK) ANNUAL
SUMMARY REPORT
Fiscal Year 2024 Report
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
One Ashburton Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Table of Contents
1. Legislative Authority
2. SAECK Tracking System
3. Fiscal Year 2024 System Enhancements
4. Fiscal Year 2024 Summary
a. General
b. Kit Processing
c. CODIS Submission
d. Destroyed Kits
5. Conclusion
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1. Legislative Authority
Section 11 of Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018, An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform, amended M.G.L.
c. 6A by adding the following:
Section 18X. (a) The executive office of public safety and security shall establish and maintain a
statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system. The secretary of public safety and
security, hereinafter referred to as the secretary, in conjunction with the department of public
health, shall convene a multidisciplinary task force composed of members that include law
enforcement professionals, crime lab personnel, prosecutors, victim advocates, victim
attorneys, survivors and sexual assault nurse examiners or sexual assault forensic examiners to
help develop recommendations for a tracking system, methods to improve transportation of
sexual assault evidence kits and funding sources. The secretary may contract with state or non-
state entities including, but not limited to, private software and technology providers, for the
creation, operation and maintenance of the system. A sexual assault evidence kit shall include
the standardized kit for the collection and preservation of evidence in sexual assault or rape
cases as designed by the municipal police training committee pursuant to section 97B of chapter
41.
(b) The statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system shall:
(i) track the location and status of sexual assault evidence kits throughout the criminal justice
process, including: (1) the initial collection in examinations performed at hospitals or medical
facilities; (2) receipt and storage at a governmental entity, including a local law enforcement
agency, the department of state police, a district attorney's office or any other political
subdivision of the commonwealth or of a county, city or town; (3) a hospital or medical facility
that is in possession of forensic evidence pursuant to section 97B of chapter 41; (4) receipt and
analysis at forensic laboratories; and (5) storage and any destruction after completion of
analysis;
(ii) allow hospitals or medical facilities performing sexual assault forensic examinations, law
enforcement agencies, prosecutors, the crime laboratory within the department of state police,
or any crime laboratory operated by the police department of a municipality with a population
of more than 150,000, and other entities in the custody of sexual assault kits to update and
track the status and location of sexual assault kits;
(iii) allow victims of sexual assault to anonymously track and receive updates regarding the
status of their sexual assault kits; and
(iv) use electronic technology or technologies allowing continuous access.
(c) Any public agency or entity, including its officials and employees, and any hospital and its
employees providing services to victims of sexual assault may not be held civilly liable for
damages arising from any release of information or the failure to release information related to
the statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system, so long as the release was without
gross negligence.
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(d) Local law enforcement agencies shall participate in the statewide sexual assault evidence kit
tracking system established in this section for the purpose of tracking the status of all sexual
assault evidence kits in the custody of local law enforcement agencies and other entities
contracting with local law enforcement agencies.
(e) The director of the crime laboratory within the department of state police and the director of
any crime laboratory operated by the police department of a municipality with a population of
more than 150,000 shall participate in the statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system
established in this section for the purpose of tracking the status of all sexual assault evidence
kits in the custody of the department of state police and other entities contracting with the
department of state police or such crime laboratory operated by a police department of a
municipality with a population of more than 150,000.
(f) A hospital or medical facility licensed pursuant to chapter 111 shall participate in the
statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system established in this section for the purpose
of tracking the status of all sexual assault evidence kits collected by or in the custody of hospitals
and other entities contracting with hospitals.
(g) District attorney offices shall participate in the statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking
system established in this section for the purpose of tracking the status of all sexual assault
evidence kits.
Section 18Y. Annually, on or before September 1st, the following reports regarding the previous
fiscal year shall be submitted to the executive office of public safety and security by law
enforcement agencies, medical facilities, crime laboratories, and any other facilities that receive,
maintain, store or preserve sexual assault evidence kit. The reports shall contain: (i) the total
number of all kits containing forensic samples collected or received; (ii) the date of collection or
receipt of each kit; (iii) the category of each kit; (iv) the sexual assault that was reported to law
enforcement; (v) whether or not the victim chose not to file a report with law enforcement
(non-investigatory); (vi) the status of the kit; (vii) the total number of all kits remaining in
possession of the medical facility, law enforcement or laboratory and all reasons for any kit in
possession for more than 30 days; (viii) the total number of kits destroyed by medical facilities,
law enforcement or laboratories, and reason for destruction; (ix) in the case of a medical facility,
the date the kit was collected, the date the kit was reported to law enforcement and the date
the kit was picked up by law enforcement; (x) in the case of law enforcement, the date the kit
was picked up from a medical facility, the date the kit was delivered to the crime laboratory and,
for kits belonging to another jurisdiction, the date that the jurisdiction was notified and the date
it was picked up; and (xi) in the case of crime laboratories the date the kit was received, from
which agency the kit was received, the date the kit was tested, the date the resulting
information was entered into CODIS and the state DNA databases and all reasons a kit was not
tested or a DNA profile was not created.
The executive office of public safety and security shall compile the information in a summary
report that includes a list of all agencies or facilities that failed to participate in the audit. The
annual summary report shall be made publicly available on the executive office of public safety
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 and security's website and shall be submitted to the governor, the attorney general, the clerks
of the house of representatives and the senate, and the house and senate chairs of the joint
committee on the judiciary.
The executive office of public safety and security may obtain information from the tracking
system established in section 18X and by additional means, such as manual counts and review of
records such as case files.
2. SAECK Tracking System
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6A, § 18X, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (hereinafter “EOPSS”)
was granted the authority to establish and maintain a statewide sexual assault evidence collection kit
(hereinafter “SAECK”) tracking system. Law enforcement agencies, the Massachusetts State Police Crime
Laboratory (hereinafter “MSPCL”) and any crime lab operated by a police department of a municipality
with a population of more than 150,000, a medical facility or medical facility licensed pursuant to G.L. c.
111, and the state’s district attorneys are statutorily required to participate in this statewide tracking
system. The tracking system records the progress of SAECK(s) from initial collection at a medical facility
through testing at a crime laboratory. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6A, § 18Y, EOPSS is required to report out
all information from the tracking system each fiscal year.
The Policy Center is managed by EOPSS and responsible for overall TRACK-KIT® system functionality.
The Policy Center monitors users’ performance and statutory compliance. The Policy Center does not
provide information on SAECKs or Toxicology Kits to Survivors or the public. A Survivor can contact the
Policy Center if they are having difficulty using the tracking system after first seeking assistance from
either the Medical Facility or a Law Enforcement Agency.
The TRACK-KIT® system is designed to allow for ease of use by all users: medical service providers, law
enforcement agencies, laboratories, survivors, and prosecuting agencies. Some of the noteworthy
features of the system are:
• The ability to track the location and status of a SAECK and toxicology kit through the entire
process, from medical service provider to law enforcement agency, to the laboratory, and to
storage;
• Privacy and anonymity for survivors;
• The ability to monitor agency-level workflow;
• Secure, easy-to-use website for each type of user;
• Mobile-friendly;
• Tracks kit location and status;
• Sends email notifications to ensure compliance with legislative timelines;
• Visualizes performance metrics in dashboards;
• Provides automatic inventory management to ensure a facility does not run out of kits;
• End-to-end audit trail of all activity;
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 • Multi-channel 24/7 end-user support;
• Training and user documentation is tailored for each type of user; and
• Survivors are able to access localized resource information.
3. Fiscal Year 2024 System Enhancements
During Fiscal Year 2024EOPSS made the following system enhancements to the TRACK-KIT® system:
1. Admin Overview Massachusetts Report Revisions
a. In Fiscal Year 2024, the EOPSS Policy Center worked with the TRACK-KIT® system
vendor, Invita®, to enhance the system to assist in preparing this report. Historically, this
report has been compiled by conducting manual data cleans and extracts of the system.
With this enhancement, it will no longer require manual extracts – minimizing human
error and allowing for a quicker turnaround time for fiscal year reporting and public
transparency.
2. Ability to Discard Uncollected Kits at the Policy Center
Survivors have the right to decline a kit collection at any point during the process. When this
occurs after a kit has been opened and the barcode has been scanned by medical facility staff,
the kit must be discarded from the TRACK-KIT® system. Historically, the Policy Center would
need to log a ticket with the vendor for the removal of the kit in the TRACK-KIT® system. This
process can take days and sometimes weeks. With this enhancement, the Policy Center can now
discard the kit as soon as they are alerted via SANE or Hospital Staff. The Policy Center will never
discard a collected kit from the TRACK-KIT® system.
3. Add Date filter to ‘LEA Compliance – Pickup from Medical Facility Threshold’ Dashboard
This enhancement allows for additional oversight and support to law enforcement agencies that
have exceeded their statutorily mandated turnaround times, specifically the requirement to pick
up a kit within three (3) business days of notification from a medical facility. Prior to this
enhancement, this information was displayed using the average, from a historical perspective.
We are now able to view this information from point in time, specifically the current fiscal year.
The Policy Center will be able to periodically review this data and notify these law enforcement
agencies when an issue is potentially arising, and communication/outreach can begin
immediately. This enhancement will allow any noncompliance issues, and thus delays of relaying
information to Survivors, to be resolved quickly. Additionally, if a law enforcement agency is
inquiring about their agency’s overall compliance, the Policy Center is now able to use this
enhancement to provide this information in a timely manner.
4. Add Date filter to 'LEA Compliance – Lab Submission Due Date Threshold’ Dashboard
Identical to the enhancement above, this enhancement allows for additional oversight and
support to law enforcement agencies that have exceeded their statutorily mandated turnaround
times, specifically the requirement to submit a kit to the appropriate crime laboratory within
seven (7) business days of pickup from a medical facility. Prior to this enhancement, this
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 information was displayed using the average, from a historical perspective. Prior to this
enhancement, this information was displayed using the average, from a historical perspective.
We are now able to view this information from point in time, specifically the current fiscal year.
The Policy Center will be able to periodically review this data and notify these law enforcement
agencies when an issue is potentially arising, and communication/outreach can begin
immediately. This enhancement will allow any noncompliance issues, and thus delays of relaying
information to Survivors, to be resolved quickly. Additionally, if a law enforcement agency is
inquiring about their agency’s overall compliance, the Policy Center is now able to use this
enhancement to provide this information in a timely manner.
4. Fiscal Year 2024 Summary
a. General
All agencies and facilities are required to submit annual reports to EOPSS containing the data points
outlined in G.L. c. 6A, § 18Y. Given the remarkable aspects and features of the TRACK-KIT® system, the
required data has been consistently reported to EOPSS throughout Fiscal Year 2024. As such, EOPSS has
been tracking the information prior to the deadline of September 1, as set forth in the statute, and was
able to query the data that is the basis for this report. As a result of this feature, no facility or agency
failed to submit the information required in section 18Y.
During Fiscal Year 2024, a total of 1,395 SAECKs were administered to survivors and entered into the
TRACK-KIT® system. Forty – nine (49) of the total SAECKs entered into TRACK-KIT® pertain to incidents
outside the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. Of the remaining 1,346 SAECKs that involved incidents in
the Commonwealth, 931 of the incidents were reported to law enforcement and 415 were unreported.
Of the 1,346 SAECKs, 197 SAECKs were administered to survivors 15 years of age or younger.
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 1,395 SAECKs were collected in FY24
Minor
12%
Out of State
3%
Unreported SAECKs
Reported SAECKs
26%
59%
Reported SAECKs Unreported SAECKs Out of State Minor
b. Kit Processing
Medical Facilities and Law Enforcement Agencies
The TRACK-KIT® system allows for monitoring and notification in compliance with G.L. c. 41, § 97B 1/2.
Specifically, the system allows for the medical provider to notify the law enforcement agency that a
SAECK was collected within 24 hours of the examination. Local law enforcement agencies then have
three business days to take possession of the SAECK. The law enforcement agencies are required by law
to submit the SAECK to the appropriate crime laboratory within seven business days of taking
possession.
In accordance with G.L. c. 6A, § 18Y (vii), EOPSS is required to report “the total number of all kits
remaining in possession of the medical facility, law enforcement or laboratory and all reasons for any kit
in possession for more than 30 days.” Of the 1,395 SAECKs administered and entered into the TRACK-
KIT® system, four (4) remained at a medical facility for more than 30 days for the following reasons:
1. The assault occurred out of state and the out-of-state law enforcement agency was
unresponsive or delayed in picking up the SAECK;
2. SAECK was missing information; and
3. The medical facility delayed entering the kit into TRACK-KIT®, therefore, delaying law
enforcement notification for pick-up.
Of the 1,395 SAECKs administered and entered into the TRACK-KIT® system, twenty-three (23) SAECKs
remained at a law enforcement agency for more than 30 days for the following reasons:
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 a. Staffing limitations;
b. Kit awaited transfer to appropriate jurisdiction;
c. Change in kit status regarding reported and unreported; and
d. Ongoing investigation and more information was needed.
Crime Laboratories: The Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory
The MSPCL was due to receive 771 SAECKs that were collected between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.