Abstract

In 2018, the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) began mandating SAKI funding awardees submit eligible cases to the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), a database which allows for the identification and analysis of serial violent crimes. Limited research has examined the use of ViCAP by SAKI sites or SAKI site personnels’ perceptions of ViCAP. To address this gap, we conducted a survey of SAKI sites (N=24) to identify trends regarding ViCAP personnel and training, ViCAP case entry and eligibility processes, and barriers/opportunities to increase the use of ViCAP. Findings show most sites are entering cases into ViCAP, but the utility of ViCAP as an investigatory tool is hindered by structural barriers in hiring/retention and training which prevent SAKI sites from fully leveraging ViCAP’s resources.