Kentucky State Police received more than $172,000 in federal grant funding to continue investigations into sexual assaults via the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).
The SAKI grant program, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, provides financial support to jurisdictions across the country to address the backlog of untested sexual assault kits, investigate and prosecute cases, and support victims of sexual assault.
“Our SAKI team has delivered real, meaningful results for survivors and victims of sexual assault in the commonwealth,” Gov. And Beshear said. “Every single Kentuckian impacted by a crime deserves closure and the ability to seek justice and this grant funding will allow us to continue making progress.”
The federal funding originated from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and will enhance KSP’s SAKI investigative team’s critical work to analyze sexual assault kits and identify suspects through DNA testing. The team, which was created by Beshear in July 2021, works to leverage existing resources to investigate and identify sexual offenders.
The team works with victims, law enforcement partners, prosecutors and community partners to provide enhanced investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases
Since its creation, the governor’s office said the KSP SAKI team has received more than $4.8 million in federal grant funding, including $1.5 million in 2021, more than $840,000 in 2022 and $2.5 million in 2023.
The 2023 grant award was the second-largest award in the history of the commonwealth from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
