Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) GranteeHawaii Department of the Attorney General

SAKI awarded Hawaii's Department of the Attorney General a grant in the amount of $2 million in FY2016, which it used to test sexual assault kits (SAKs); assist with victim notification and services; and maintain the multidisciplinary community response team that was engaged in reforming SAK management, tracking, and testing.

The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General successfully launched a media campaign to highlight the work they completed as part of their SAKI program. These efforts include a public facing website (July 2017) and a public service announcement (August 2017).

Learn more about Hawaii's efforts at http://ag.hawaii.gov/hisaki/.

For more information on the specific SAKI awards for this site, see the table below.

Hawaii Department of the Attorney General Funding

Year	Amount	Purpose Area
FY2016	$2,000,000	Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits

Please direct all media inquiries to:

Gary Yamashiroya
gary.h.yamashiroya@hawaii.gov
808-586-1497

To learn more about their progress, read below for other news and events out of the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General.

News and Events

Tracking System Launched for Sex Assault Evidence Collection Kits
— Big Island Now, Jul 3, 2021
Hawai‘i’s Officer of the Attorney General and Hawai‘i Sexual Assault Response and Training (HSART) Program’s Multi-Disciplinary Team announced the launch of the sexual assault evidence collection kit tracking system on the HSART website.

Man sentenced to jail, probation for 2016 sex assault
— West Hawaii Today, Aug 28, 2020
A 55-year-old Mountain View resident was sentenced to 18 months in jail and five years probation in connection with a sex assault that occurred in 2016. “This case serves as an example of the value of the SAKI project. Sniffen committed his offense when the victim was unconscious and unable to describe what happened or who the perpetrator was. The SAKI project developed evidence to identify Sniffen as the perpetrator. The plea agreement was the result of victim-centered, trauma-informed, multidisciplinary team effort in a case that likely would not have been prosecuted in years past,” the press release reads.

Two men are charged in separate sexual assaults after the testing of rape kits
— Sophie Cockie, Star Advertiser, Jan 1, 2020
Two men have been charged with sexual assault on Hawaii island following a statewide effort to test hundreds of rape kits that for years sat unprocessed in county storage facilities.

County ready to prosecute old rape cases
— Hawaii Tribune Herald, Nancy Cook Lauer, Dec 3, 2019
Hawaii Island’s decade-long backlog of rape test kits have all been processed, and now it’s time to move onto the next step — investigating and prosecuting the cases. Of the 189 test kits submitted for analysis, 47 had DNA profiles loaded to CODIS, the federal Combined DNA Index System database. Of those, 11 resulted in hits against known suspects, according to the state Department of the Attorney General.

HPD clears backlog of untested sexual assault kits
— Rick Daysog, Hawaii News Now, Dec 5, 2018
Honolulu PD has sent all previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits for testing and have found DNA matches for hundreds of cases.

Backlogged rape test kits produce several possible leads
— Associated Press, Belleville News-Democrat, Nov 6, 2018
Law enforcement in Hawaii have tested more than 1,500 previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits that have led to 120 DNA matches in national offender databases, 19 of which matched DNA taken from a separate crime scene and repeat offenders.

County completes rape kit testing back to ’99
— Lila Fujimoto, mauinews.com, May 13, 2018
Maui County has completed testing on more than 100 sexual assault kits dating back to 1999. So far, testing has resulted in 13 hits in the national DNA database.

AG: Progress Made in Hawai‘i Sex Assault Kit Backlog
— mauinow.com, May 4, 2018
Hawaii’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative multidisciplinary team has completed the submission of 1,513 previously untested SAKs for DNA testing.

State makes progress on backlog of untested sex assault kits
— Terri Inefuku, khon2.com, Oct 5, 2017
Between July and September of 2017, Hawaii submitted 614 previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) for testing, up 72 SAKs from the previous quarter.

PSA Reminds Sexual Assault Survivors They are not Alone
— Big Island Now Staff, Big Island Now.com, Aug 13, 2017
A new Public Service Announcement (PSA) video under Project Malama Kakou aims to reach sexual assault survivors who may feel isolated, sharing caring and victim-centered support and information services. The PSA is located at ag.hawaii.gov/hisaki. To learn more, visit the link and read the full article.

New website designed to support sex assault victims, keep tabs on kit testing
— khon2, Jun 23, 2017
Hawaii has launched a new website that offers resources and support for victims of sexual assault, including information on how to track a kit as it goes through testing for DNA evidence. The website also includes a description of Project Malama Kakou, a list of Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team members, frequently asked questions, information on survivor notification and services, and a dashboard reflecting the number of kits submitted for testing. To learn more, read the full article.

Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Report Released
— Big Island Now News of Hawaii, Dec 2, 2016
The Attorney General of Hawaii recently released a report of inventoried, untested sexual assault kits, and a plan to test them. The report outlines untested SAKs within each county and details testing capacity, plans for public outreach, and recommendations for legislative action. Additionally, a working group has established the Malama Kakou Project, a state plan to test untested and new SAKs, identify the criteria for testing and order, provide active public outreach and notification, and establish a SAK tracking system.