Since May, victims in Portland can track whether evidence gathered during their hospital forensic exam has been submitted to a crime lab for testing and if the results have been returned to police. The actual results aren’t available on the online portal, police said.
The system resulted from legislation adopted in 2018 that directed Oregon State Police to establish a committee to recommend a way to track the kits statewide. It grew from Melissa’s Law, which passed in 2016 and was named for Melissa Bittler, a 14-year-old Portland girl attacked and killed by a serial rapist as she left for school on Dec. 13, 2001. Her case first shined light on the Portland police cache of untested kits. More than a decade later, The Oregonian/OregonLive found that untested kits more than doubled despite the public promises by police leaders to eliminate the stockpile after the girl’s death.
Melissa’s Law directed police agencies to adopt rules for processing untested kits by the start of 2017 and mandated guidelines requiring all new kits be sent for testing within 14 days of collection.
The Sexual Assault Management System victim portal, created by the Portland Police Bureau’s information technology unit through a federal grant, launched May 1 and allows victims, or a parent or guardian for minors, to anonymously access the tracking system to receive kit testing updates.
They receive their kit number with their discharge paperwork from a hospital. That number can be entered on the website https://trackit.osp.oregon.gov/ to receive real-time updates. The screen will display a diagram showing the kit’s progress and current status. The portal doesn’t require login information, so users can remain anonymous.
State police Capt. Alex Gardner, director of the forensics division, has said his office is working to use the kit-tracking program that Portland police developed.
“Being able to provide survivors with access to real-time updates is a tremendous leap forward in improving our victim-centered approach in these investigations,” Chief Danielle Outlaw said in a statement. “We are excited to be able to share this innovative technology throughout the state.”
©2019 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
