Virginia Code 19.2-11.13: Physical Evidence Recovery Kit Tracking System
A. The Department shall maintain a statewide electronic tracking system for physical evidence recovery kits. The Physical Evidence Recovery Kit Tracking System (the System) will utilize an assigned unique identification number to track each physical evidence recovery kit from its distribution as an uncollected kit to the health care provider through to its destruction. The Department shall ensure that each physical evidence recovery kit is assigned a unique identification number.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 19.2-11.13
- Department: means the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
- Division: means the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services of the Virginia Department of General Services. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Health care provider: means any hospital, clinic, or other medical facility that provides forensic medical examinations to victims of sexual assault. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
- Physical evidence recovery kit: means any evidence collection kit supplied by the Department to health care providers for use in collecting evidence from victims of sexual assault during forensic medical examinations or to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for use during death investigations to collect evidence from decedents who may be victims of sexual assault. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
- Victim of sexual assault: means any person who undergoes a forensic medical examination for the collection of a physical evidence recovery kit connected to a sexual assault offense. See Virginia Code 19.2-11.5
B. The Department shall provide access to the System to health care providers, law-enforcement agencies, the Division, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. All such entities and agencies shall be required to enter the identification number and other information pertaining to the kits in the System as required by the Department and to update the status and location of each kit in the System whenever such status or location changes.
C. The health care provider shall inform the victim of sexual assault of the unique identification number assigned to the physical evidence recovery kit utilized by the health care provider during the forensic medical examination and provide the victim with information regarding the System.
D. Records entered into the System are confidential and are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
2019, c. 473.