Minimum guidelines for contents

Use kits that meet or exceed minimum guidelines for contents.  Many jurisdictions have developed their own sexual assault evidence collection kits (for evidence from victims) or have purchased premade kits through commercial vendors. Kits may vary from one another in types of samples collected, collection techniques, materials used for collection, and terms used to describe categories of evidence. Despite variations, however, it is critical that every kit meets or exceeds the recommended minimum guidelines for contents.[1] 
  • A kit container.  It is suggested that this container have a label with blanks for identifying information and documenting the chain of custody. Most items gathered during evidence collection are placed into the container, after being dried, packaged, labeled, and sealed according to jurisdictional policy. Bags are typically provided for more bulky items that will not fit in the container (e.g., clothing). Some jurisdictions provide large paper bags to hold the container and additional evidence bags.
  • An instruction sheet or checklist that guides examiners in collecting evidence and maintaining the chain of custody. 
  • Forms that facilitate evidence collection and analysis, including patients’ authorization for collection and release of evidence and information to the law enforcement agency; the medical forensic history; and anatomical diagrams.
  • Materials for collecting and preserving the following evidence, according to jurisdictional policy:[2] 
    • Patients’ clothing and underwear and foreign material dislodged from clothing;
    • Foreign materials on patients’ bodies, including blood, dried secretions, fibers, loose hairs, vegetation, soil/debris, fingernail scrapings and/or cuttings, matted hair cuttings, material dislodged from mouth using dental floss,[3] and swabs of suspected semen, saliva, and/or areas highlighted by alternate light sources;[4] 
    • Hair evidence (including head and pubic hair samples and combings);[5] 
    • Vaginal/cervical swabs and smears;
    • Penile swabs and smears; 
    • Anal/perianal swabs and smears; 
    • Oral swabs and smears;
    • Body swabs;[6] and
    • Known blood, saliva sample, or buccal swab for DNA analysis and comparison. 
(See C.6. Exam and Evidence Collection Procedures for specifics about evidence collection techniques.)
 
Extra copies of forms should be available to examiners for cases when the kit is not used, but documentation of the medical forensic history and the exam is done. All forms included in the kit should be designed to facilitate optimal forensic evidence collection, analysis, and examiner testimony. 
 
Separate from the kit, materials and forms for collecting toxicology samples should be available to examiners (and to responding law enforcement officers and emergency medical technicians, according to jurisdictional policy).  

[1] The following resources were helpful in developing this list: the Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit, VEC100, by Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, the Texas Customized Sexual Assault Evidence Collect Kit by Tri-Tech, Inc., the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Physical Evidence Recovery Kit, the State of California’s Medical Forensic Report: Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Examination, Less than 72 Hours (OCJP 923)), the Ohio Department of Health’s Sexual Assault/Abuse Evidence Collection Kit (as found in their protocol), Detailed Instructions; Connecticut’s Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit (as found in their protocol), and the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Evaluation and Management of the Sexually Assaulted or Sexually Abused Patient, 1999, pp. 101–107. 
[2] Some samples that historically have been collected are no longer recommended in many jurisdictions, unless the medical forensic history and physical exam indicate otherwise (e.g., a vaginal wash).
[3] Although in some instances flossing could help dislodge evidence that may be between the patient’s teeth, flossing for evidence is not routinely done across jurisdictions. Any related safety risks to patients (e.g., potential increased risk of HIV exposure if there is semen in the mouth and flossing causes gums to bleed) should be considered before flossing for evidence. 
[4] It is acknowledged that approaches to categorizing evidence vary. For example, one kit may collect external genital swabs when gathering foreign materials, while in another kit, collection of genital swabs may be a separate category of evidence. 
[5] Some jurisdictions collect pubic and head hair combings, others collect only pubic combings. Some also collect pubic and/or head hair reference samples. Materials should be included in the kit to collect and preserve hair evidence required by jurisdictional policy.
[6] Some jurisdictions use the medical forensic history, the examination, and patients’ consent to determine whether and where to collect swabs, while others collect swabs from all orifices and from the surface of the body (with patients’ consent). In particular, some do not collect anal swabs unless indicated.



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