The NSW Police have access to a greater database of sexual offenders than ever before following the completion of a recent back capture project.
In October 2022, the NSW Government approved funding to support the triage, processing and testing of previously untested historical Sexual Assault Investigation Kits, known as SAIKs.
SAIKs are provided at the hospital after a sexual assault complaint is made, and used are used by medical and forensic examiners to collect evidence.
The SAIKs back captured were previously untested based on the investigative need to do so at the time of collection, but due to an update in policy, underwent retesting and filing.
The purpose of this project was to bolster the existing sexual offender database, identify links between scenes and offenders, and to ultimately gather intelligence and further investigative leads.
Since the project's inception, 783 previously untested SAIKs were tested, with the collected data added to the growing database of the state's sexual offenders.
Commander of State Crime Command's Sex Crimes Squad, Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty said the project has improved capabilities of sex crime investigators.
"This back capture of data puts sex crime detectives in a better position than ever before, and sends a clear message to offenders, that we never stop investigating incidents of sexual assault and abuse," Det Supt Doherty said.
"While we have captured data and DNA that was previously unreported, we want to remind the community that victims remain at the centre of any decision making and we will only take an investigation as far as the victim wants to."
"That means we will still honour the choice of someone who may have previously provided a SAIK to police but did not wish to proceed with charges. However, the DNA from that SAIK is now on file to potentially help other future victims."
"The community are also reminded that it's never too late to report an incident of sexual assault."
Anyone with information that may assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
