Over a 12 months after a metropolis audit discovered the San Antonio Police Division failed to satisfy state deadlines for submitting a whole lot of sexual assault proof kits in a three-year interval, new information present the division has largely introduced its dealing with of the kits into compliance.
A 2019 Texas legislation requires legislation enforcement companies to submit sexual assault proof to an accredited crime laboratory inside 30 days of receiving it. The requirement is meant to stop kits from sitting untested for prolonged intervals. A metropolis audit launched in the summertime of 2024 discovered SAPD missed that deadline 117 occasions between October 2021 and September 2023, affecting practically 10% of kits collected throughout that interval, KSAT reported. The audit prompted criticism from some metropolis leaders and led SAPD to overtake how kits are tracked and transported to the Bexar County Felony Investigation Laboratory.
New information obtained by the San Antonio Report from SAPD present that within the 12-month interval from November 2024 to October 2025 the division collected 681 sexual assault nurse examination kits, generally referred to as SANE kits. Of these, solely 5 had been submitted to against the law lab past the state’s 30-day deadline, information present.
Fewer missed deadlines
Based on SAPD’s response, three of the 5 late submissions through the 12-month interval concerned suspect comparability kits, that are kits used to assemble organic samples from a suspect for later comparability with proof discovered at against the law scene. SAPD officers mentioned these kits aren’t tracked in the identical method below the state system as SANE kits.
The remaining two delayed circumstances concerned SANE kits. One was submitted 20 days late on account of a jurisdictional dispute, and one other was submitted 5 days late due to what SAPD described as a logistical delay in December of 2024.
As of Dec. 22, the division reported 19 kits awaiting switch to the crime lab for testing, all nonetheless inside the 30-day window. Month-to-month figures present that SAPD collected a mean of about 57 kits monthly through the reporting interval, with April 2025 seeing the very best variety of collections with 86 kits logged that month.
Knowledge from SAPD exhibits most kits had been transferred to a lab inside two to 3 weeks of assortment. Some had been submitted sooner, whereas others approached the 30-day deadline however remained inside the state’s requirement.
What modified after the audit
Following the audit SAPD moved to make numerous staffing and procedural modifications to the method; these insurance policies have been codified within the Particular Victims Unit Commonplace Working Process dated June 1, 2025.
In response to an open information request, SAPD officers mentioned the modifications embrace a weekly report from the property room that handles the kits. Each Monday SVU receives the weekly checklist indicating the date the check was created and the date of the 30-day timeline so as to monitor circumstances that require switch.
Moreover, one SVU administrative assistant has been educated to backup the property management brokers in accumulating and processing SANE kits from the medical supplier. Two have been educated to organize the required documentation required for submission.
“These staffing changes strengthen continuity and accountability in SANE package dealing with,” the division wrote.
The San Antonio Report requested an interview with a member of the division that instantly handles the processing of the kits, SAPD declined to interview citing a earlier interview in April of 2025 with KSAT, The next assertion was moreover offered.
“For the reason that audit, survivors can now go to any main hospital for a SANE examination, once they beforehand might solely go to 2 hospitals,” Camelia Juarez, San Antonio Police Public Info Officer wrote. “This makes the method extra handy and sooner for survivors.”
SANE exams can be found at practically each hospital within the metropolis. These specialised nurses can see assault victims at hospitals inside the Methodist Healthcare System, College Well being, Baptist Well being System and CHRISTUS Well being System.
A altering panorama for sexual assault proof
The replace comes on the heels of expanded entry to forensic testing for sexual assault survivors in Texas via a brand new state program created below Home Invoice 1422, which took impact this 12 months.
Underneath the brand new legislation, survivors can now endure a forensic medical examination and have DNA proof collected and examined with out submitting a police report. Survivors can be notified if international DNA is discovered within the check package, they’ll then have the choice to maneuver forwarded with releasing the outcomes to a legislation enforcement company to pursue an investigation.
“Home Invoice 1422 removes one of many largest boundaries sexual assault survivors face when deciding whether or not to hunt assist: the concern that getting a forensic examination means they need to instantly contain legislation enforcement,” mentioned Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), a major sponsor of the invoice, wrote in a Texas Division of Public Security press launch.
In that December launch, DPS introduced that it had begun processing the primary kits collected below this system, referred to as the Restricted Consent for DNA Testing Program. Proof collected via this system is examined at DPS’ Houston crime lab, with outcomes saved for as much as 5 years, permitting survivors time to resolve whether or not to report the offense to legislation enforcement.
Kits are required to be examined inside 90 days of receipt by DPS, solely proof collected on or after Dec. 1, 2025 is eligible for this system. Funding for this system comes from the governor’s workplace.
Beforehand, sexual assault survivors would have needed to contain legislation enforcement so as to have DNA proof examined.
State officers have described this system as an effort to provide survivors extra management over when and whether or not they have interaction legislation enforcement, whereas nonetheless preserving forensic proof that would later assist an investigation.
