The WiSAKI project is a collaborative effort among local and state criminal justice professionals. Investigations and prosecutions are typically led by local law enforcement and prosecutors around the state. They are assisted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ).
The tiles below provide a snapshot overview (as of 4/7/2021) of the previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) inventoried as part of the WiSAKI project, the current status of different aspects of the project, and the scope of sexual assaults in Wisconsin prior to the start of the WiSAKI project in 2015. The numbers will continue to change as kits move through the submission, testing, investigation and court processes. Definitions for each of these categories can be found below.
For additional information, please click on the icons within each tile.
Sexual Assaults in Wisconsin
Reported victims of sexual assault between 2010 and 2015: This is a count of victims who reported being sexually assaulted to local law enforcement between the years 2010 and 2015, and where the incident was submitted to Wisconsin’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program at DOJ.
SAKs collected between 2010 and 2015: This is a count of the SAKs that were collected between 2010 and 2015 that were submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab for DNA testing prior to the WiSAKI project, or were not submitted for testing and were inventoried during the WiSAKI project. This does not include any SAKs that may have been destroyed prior to the WiSAKI project.
Inventory
Previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs): Total number of sexual assault kits inventoried through the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (WiSAKI) project. Prior to the project, the kits were being held by law enforcement agencies or hospitals and had not been previously submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory (WSCL) for DNA testing. For more detail on the inventory process, click here.
Testing Designation
SAKs designated for testing: These are SAKs that meet the WiSAKI project’s testing criteria, including all of the SAKs that have been identified by law enforcement agencies and hospitals after the initial inventory was completed and kits initially designated for testing had been sent out to the external labs on or after June 1, 2018.
Testing Results
SAKs with foreign DNA identified: DNA testing of the SAK identified DNA that was not from the victim.
CODIS Hits
SAKs with foreign DNA identified that were uploaded into CODIS: A foreign DNA profile that was identified from the DNA testing of the SAK met the FBI’s eligibility criteria and was uploaded into CODIS. For more information on CODIS, click here.
SAKs with a CODIS hit: The foreign DNA profile from the SAK that was uploaded into CODIS matched against another profile within CODIS. A SAK can have more than one CODIS hit. This number can continually change as hits can happen indefinitely into the future.
CODIS hits: The foreign DNA profile from the SAK that was uploaded into CODIS matched against one or more profiles within CODIS. A SAK can have more than one CODIS hit, so the total number of hits may exceed the number of SAKs with CODIS hits. This number can continually change as hits can happen indefinitely into the future. A hit can be either a forensic hit or an offender hit.
Please Note: For this purpose, all CODIS hits (both forensic and offender) are counted regardless of whether they provide a specific investigative lead for a particular case. The CODIS hit counts include each individual hit between cases, as well as those to an offender. The total number of hits is utilized to be able to demonstrate case connectivity and where hits are generating by county and from other states. This may differ from how CODIS hits are counted for other reporting purposes.
Survivor Notifications
SAKs where the survivor was notified: The survivor associated with the SAK has been notified of the DNA testing results.
Investigative Reviews
SAK testing results associated with further investigation: All cases involving a SAK with foreign DNA have been designated for review for further potential investigation. This number reflects the number of SAKs with foreign DNA associated with a case(s) where that review has been completed.
SAKs associated with a case referred for a charging decision: Law enforcement has referred the case associated with the SAK to the local district attorney’s office for a charging decision. The number of SAKs associated with a charging decision can be greater than the number of cases referred because a case may involve more than one SAK.
Prosecutions
Current criminal cases: A defendant has been charged criminally in a case associated with a SAK. A case will be counted more than once if multiple SAKs were associated with the case for the purposes of prosecution.
Click here to see a project overview including the numbers from the inventory through testing and CODIS hits.