The Home voted unanimously in favor of Senate Invoice 2281 on Monday, April 12. The vote comes about two months after the Senate backed the proposed laws that might permit the state crime lab to develop and handle an digital monitoring system that might maintain tabs on the kits used to collect sexual assault evidence.
If Republican Gov. Doug Burgum indicators off on the invoice, North Dakota will be a part of a rising variety of states which have created monitoring methods for the kits.
“The DNA proof collected in these kits is crucial for serving to convict offenders or, equally as essential, serving to exonerate those that will not be responsible,” Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, mentioned Monday.
Together with legislation enforcement, sexual assault survivors additionally would be capable to monitor their kits, which might give them a “sense of management that’s crucial to their therapeutic,” Hanson mentioned. The system received’t be open to the general public, Legal professional Normal Wayne Stenehjem beforehand informed The Discussion board.
North Dakota would obtain $255,000 for the 2021-2023 biennium from the federal authorities so the state crime lab can create the monitoring system. After that, it is anticipated to value $25,000 a 12 months to keep up the hassle.
The lawyer common’s workplace has been distributing sexual assault kits to legislation enforcement throughout North Dakota, however the workplace didn’t know what occurred to all of these kits, Stenehjem mentioned when he testified on the invoice in a committee listening to.
Advocates and Stenehjem have mentioned the creation of a monitoring system is a a lot wanted program in North Dakota. It not solely may assist resolve extra instances but in addition encourage extra sexual assault survivors to come back ahead in the event that they know kits will likely be tracked and analyzed.
