Section 41:97B 1/2 - Notification of law enforcement agencies of evidence of sexual assault and after using new kit for collection of sexual assault evidence(a) A hospital licensed pursuant to chapter 111 and all other medical facilities that conduct medical forensic examinations shall notify a local law enforcement agency at the time the evidence of a sexual assault is obtained and no later than 24 hours after using a new kit for the collection of sexual assault evidence.(b) Local law enforcement agencies shall: (1) Take possession of the sexual assault evidence kit from hospitals and other medical facilities that conduct medical forensic examinations within 3 business days of notification.(2) Submit new sexual assault evidence kits to the crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory and has a population of more than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, within 7 business days of taking possession, except that non-investigatory sexual assault evidence kits associated with a victim who has not yet filed a report with law enforcement shall not be subject to the 7 day requirement. Non-investigatory kits shall be safely stored by law enforcement in a manner that preserves evidence for the duration of the statute of limitations for all sexual assault and rape cases.(b) [(c)] The crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboraty and has a pop ulation of more than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, shall test all sexual assault evidence kits within 30 days of receipt from local law enforcement.(c) [(d)] In cases where testing results in a DNA profile, the crime laboratory shall enter the full profile into CODIS and the state DNA database.(d) [(e)] Each sexual assault evidence kit shall be entered into the statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system pursuant to section 18X of chapter 6A.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41, § 97B 1/2
Amended by Acts 2018, c. 90,§ 11, eff. 5/21/2018.Added by Acts 2018, c. 69,§ 24, eff. 4/13/2018.