Oklahoma SAFE Task Force Meets As Newly Formed Board

Oklahoma's Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Task Force, now a permanent board under the Attorney General's office, met for the first time with a renewed focus on reducing the backlog of sexual assault kits and supporting survivors in the criminal justice process.

Thursday, November 14th 2024, 10:57 pm

By: News 9, Matt McCabe


-

Oklahoma's Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Task Force now has a more permanent home under the Attorney General's office as a board, thanks to legislation passed during the 2024 session. On Thursday, the group met for the first time as a board.

Gov. Mary Fallin started the group in 2017 to address a backlog in the number of sexual assault test kits waiting to be analyzed in crime labs. Survivor Danielle Tudor has been involved with the effort since its inception.

"We are getting very close to being done with our backlog, and then we'll be just on current cases," Tudor said. "So the last few years, we've been able to kind of get a feeling, you know, what is the normal caseload going to be?"

When the group began, more than 7,000 cases were in the backlog. The number is now down to less than half.

"As a victim that is on this board, and as a survivor, I really hone in my focus into those areas as how can we make this more victim-friendly?" Tudor said. "Because we want survivors to participate in the criminal justice process."

Tudor credits recently termed-out Democratic Sen. Kay Floyd for driving the group for many years. Floyd sponsored the legislation that created the board, along with Republican officials Sen. David Bullard and Rep. Kevin Wallace.

"I’m gratified the first official meeting of the Oklahoma Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Board has been held," Wallace said. "I trust that under this permanent structure, they will work quickly to process the remaining backlog of rape kits and to ensure a better strategy going forward. Rape victims deserve to have their cases treated seriously and with care, and they deserve the timely processing of their rape kits so they can see justice served against their attackers."

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

November 14th, 2024

December 6th, 2024

December 6th, 2024

December 6th, 2024

Top Headlines

December 7th, 2024

December 7th, 2024

December 6th, 2024

December 6th, 2024