every week. once that number reaches 9, if these cases can't be immediately assigned they are out source. the strategy behind that is to reduce the amount of time that it takes the get test conducted and turned around. >> what is the difference in the statistics of how much is being outsourced now versus two years ago, for example? is that declining or because the turn around requirement is tightening? >> i think that's what is most telling is the number of capacity and request and our numbers have increased. being able to use outsourcing as a resource to use that backlog. the laboratory we use is the laboratory while we have two

and 13 at the crime lab in our biology unit. they have 20 people assigned just to property crimes and they have another team equally as that can dough crimes against persons. so the amount of work that we can send them, again the amount of turn around time that it takes to complete these cases is reduced significantly. >> captain, there are a lot of people that maybe watching tonight that aren't in the room and on tv and so on, in terms of victims of sexual assault, do they need to go to a particular hospital in order to have an evidence swab? how does that work or are there particular designated hospitals? >> i want to give you the

correct information. officer fox is here to give you that information. >> if they are in county, the sexual response team comes out there and if they are outside of county, they have another county collect that for us. >> the sexual response from other counties will handle the kit in that county that way the victim can be served right there that way they don't need to be transported to san francisco general. sometimes the rapes are reported in the county of residents and not necessarily in the county of occurrence. if they can report to alameda counties. >> so if they are in san francisco and they are a victim of sexual assault and they are picking up the phone to make a

telephone call, they call 9-1-1or they get themselves to? >> they can present in any hospital but we have the kits done at san francisco general. they can go to any hospital. we take them and transport them if need be. we have other ways to getting them there. we are going to do the best for every victim. we do what we can to make them feel as comfortable and safe as possible. >> thank you, the sexual assault victims bill of rights card sounds terrific. i'm wondering if you don't have a copy of it on you if maybe you can send a few our way? >> i can do that. the san francisco police department, we put that together at the crime lab asking our criminalist for their in put because they have

the information. again, it's information gathered out from the police department when it's required or desired the. i can forward those to you. >> the last question has to do with the new building project. can you tell us a little bit more about that. when you anticipate having that up and operational? >> the site is as evans. it's a plan for a 4 story building with a two level parking structure. what will be great about that building is that it will allow us to centralize all of the forensic services division units in one place. csi, the people who collect evidence the idea who often make often identifications

through fingerprints and crime lab. currently we are working with epa to provide information on staffing. we've done participated in a few studies for the traveng traffic impact for gathering information to give them so we can do a test fit that have site to ensure the space we are going to have is a staffing that we project to have a move in. i believe we have construction the project will to have pass a bond in 2014 and if that passes hopefully the construction will be completed in 2017 and move in for the crime lab and forensic services in 2018. >> thank you, captain.

appreciate it. >> you talked a lot about the increase in demand for demand in evidence and the power of the tools to one to help us investigate in this particular crime of sexual assault and holding the individual accountable for this compelling evidence. while sometimes jury's expect. i had a misdemeanor vandalism case where the juror wanted dna and i didn't have dna in that case and had to mrap -- explain it to the jury. but here with an increase in demand you have to be efficient and prioritize how you use the resources. can you talk to me a little bit more about how you use that piece

and make sure that you are able to maximize the capacity? >> yes, the prioritization of request is actually on the lieutenant at the investigative unit. the commander's investigation also can be advised petition in certain instances where cases meet the standard of having an immediate threat to public safety. so the way cases are prioritized again are an immediate threat. that would be like the case that we had last year on 24th street there was a sexual assault experience. that case received immediate priority. what's important for the commission to understand is that when that happens we have to take one

criminalist. this case has to be worked and nothing else. in that particular case we received a tip about a suspect from that series and we took a sample and all of that had been entered and there's no match. but once we had the suspect reference sample and we can match with this evidence sample, the turn around time was a week and we were able to turn that in and captain fox was involved in that and they brought a lot of the police department together to try to resolve that series. >> maybe captain fox can speak a little bit about how you prioritize from inspectors to lieutenants to make that priority decision. >> i think all important things to say that all sexual assault

cases immediately get to the crime lab within 72 hours. that evidence is transported to the crime lab and they go into captain prea and if they reach ten, he out sources it. it's not so common that we want to say stop the presses. we have to say now, we have a suspect, right now in that series cases. we wanted to stop and get them as quick as possible. stop your machines, stop your criminalist and let's get on this, that would be a priority request from us. all of the sexual assault case is a priority case. they make sure they get from the property to the crime lab and they get assigned to a criminalist right away. by the in nature of this crime these

cases are prioritized. these additional criminalist, they are better scheduled, there are so many things that the crime lab has changed, under the leadership of the chief. we build in a prioritization. every single case that we get gets to captain prea and their people. >> that sounds like tremendous progress. was there an effort to look back to make sure that prioritization was back then. >> it's a very complicate movement and everything has to be in sync. the individuals that we have will plan their weeks out. in 2010 we had a

group of criminalist that worked a 4-day 10 hour day and thinking at that time there would be an extra shift to work backlog reduction. what we found last year that wasn't the most efficient way to utilize the personnel that we had. again under chief's administration we changed the schedule of all the criminalist out there so folks are working a 5 day schedule and we get 150 more working days of criminalist in the lab doing the work and we also have staggered start times and the reason that's important is that we have several instruments that we have different instruments throughout the lab to use amplification to other test. criminalist have to use

time ahead, if it takes six hours for a test to be completed. that's not the most efficient manner. i'm impacting the people behind me who may need to use the same instrument. criminalist will move through the different process in different stages. i don't want to call it a balancing act because it sounds like there is no control, but it is a very focused deliberate strategy that every criminalist use so that if i use an instrument for amplification and i have six samples and when my run is complete the next criminalist can move in to do that. having people work a 5 day schedule with eight hours a day with scattered times, it increases exponentially. >> you did make the distinction

with the sa c program, can you talk about a suspect that has been identified, is there different timing or different timetable now for how those cases are handled? >> there is a range because of again the threat to public safety, not having a suspect identified. in sexual assault cases where there is an identified suspect -- an acquaintance or some former dating relationship. those cases, the dna is -- those investigations don't always ride on the dna analysis because often through other investigative methods it's determined through the victim and the known suspect that there was an act committed but there is question about whether

or not there was consent. that aside, all sexual assault case samples that we collect are eligible for submissions to coatist. we are permitted to enter their profile into coatist because there may be one instance where the suspect is known, if that is committed this act once, it's very likely that they have committed the crime some where else. we might be able to solve the case by connecting them with their profile in that system. the range that we have for testing for sexual assault cases right now, again i ask to some of our partner elaborates -- lab oratory in our bay area, our turn around time is 19 weeks

which is just a little bit shy of 5 months. the bay area average anybody where from 4-6 months. so we are right in the center of that range. i searched and asked at every possible avenue that i could to get a national figure for an average and i could not get one for this evening. >> those cases are not submitted outside for testing, they are done in our lab. the one that you mentioned the average is 5 months. >> that's our average. >> okay. then you indicated also that all sexual analysis kits are tested and you said that some don't come to you. are all the sexual assault kits submitted to you in the crime lab for testing?

>> every swab that is taken as a result of the sa c program come out. any kit that is sent to the crime lab, any request we get is tested. >> so you have all, are there any untested sexual assault kits that the crime lab currently has that are not in the cue of the 9 that are pending? >> no there are not. >> okay. shockingly i don't have anymore questions. >> mr. terman? >> is there is a prioritization difference in known suspect cases where there is an identified issue of whether there is consent or not and

there is an issue as to whether or not it's an act. is there a difference between those two? >> captain fox would be the best to address that commissioner. >> yes, in suspect cases where the suspect is known to the victim, if there is any discrepancy about whether any sexual act occurred, absolutely, that dna is prioritized to the level of an unknown suspect because we need that to move forward to get justice for the survivor as quickly as possible. that would be request from us to the lab to place that in his cue for testing. in the case for the known suspect where the survivor knows her attacker, a lot of times evidence for the dna would not be incriminating because both parties admitting that they have contact with each other. those are not prioritized testing because the probe ative value of that test

is really low and it's not needing to make a case. >> but we do test those kits, but it could be up to 5 months, is that what i'm hearing? >> the kits for a known suspect where a consent is an issue? >> this they would be tested if there is any discrepancy or where physical contact occurred. >> i just want to make sure i under. so in a situation where there is no question as to whether or not there was sexual contact, but the question is, is to whether or not it was consensual. how long -- does that kit necessarily get

tested? >> our policy, commissioner is that we test all kits. now a kit like that, if we have to prioritize and we have to triage like the officer said because if we know who the individual is, the investigation , climbing the wall for the investigation is an unknown suspect is a steeper climb. but we test all kits. that is our policy, that's our mandate and that's what we do. >> okay. how long will it take us just in the prioritization chain, how long will it take us to test the kit? >> the range we have is anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 months. >> before we conclude, i want

to say you have done an slept excellent job with this presentation. you have a better handle with the crime lab. you seem to have got a grasp of all the science involved. what's involved in both with law enforcement and the science side and the legal side when it goes before the court's. i have to tell you that you have done a great job. most people don't know this and i'm not going to embarrass you, but five years ago, you were an undercover with the dea working drug enforcement and this shows how much you have come so far with the department. >> as commissioner hammer made significant progress on this

issue but we have seen crisis intervention and there is constant demand with juries in our folks in san francisco expect the evidence that we can produce and the fact that we are using technology and signs in the best way possible. we are going to have to look at the crime lag lab to improve our time to go provide additional funding to be able to out source these. justice delayed especially for a victim of sexual assault. i know certainly under chief's leadership we can always do better and do more. i would continue to support how this support is made and just not stop. >> in closing, the work is actually by the folks who do it. i have to give a heartfelt acknowledgment to now retired

to you. the mayor's office, the budget people, city hr and the department of hr for getting this funding and the right people in place to create the program and to move this along and get the working relationship. you can see it at the microphone as they go in and out of each other the captain and you have a great handle on this. now the deputy chief is the commander of investigations when this got started. >> i also want to join everything that commissioner loftus said in particular. i would like to ask you to submit sort of the giet gooid guidelines for the prioritization so i can get a clearer understanding of how we

prioritize these situations and the different scenarios and the kit prioritization. >> i will make that available in the morning. >> i appreciate that. >> i appreciate your kind words and your patience. the people at the lab appreciate your support and they have one thing in common with this one member which is the care and they want to help. thank you. >> so before we move to the next agenda item i'm wondering if we can take a question, is it possible to have public comment on it and then take a short break before we move into the occ report. and we get a break and we also hear public comment. is that okay?

>> based upon commissioner's rms -- rms recommendation we are going to have public comment with reference to line items 3 a. >> good evening my name is heather marlow. in response to the presentation that was given i want to speak very briefly since now we are now two hours in about my experience dealing with the sf p.d. in regards to the sexual assault that happened to me. i was raped at beta breakers on may 16, 2010, and i was drugged and raped by an unknown suspect. after the incident occurred, are i agreed

to have a sexual assault kit taken at the san francisco general hospital and after four hour long examination i was told that my kit would be september to the crime lab within 72 hours and under the san francisco ordinance it would be processed best practices mandate processed within 14 days. i followed up with my inspector in order to apprehend the suspect who was then questioned and he told me, the inspector told me that indeed my kit would be processed with the suspect's dna which was taken and would be processed within 14 days. i followed up ninety days later and they also told me that they

would contact me. so i followed up ninety days later and was told that my kit was still in a cue and i was told that i would then need to follow-up six months later. so i followed up at the end of 2010 and i was told by a sergeant there that my kit, that the evidence from my suspect was not put with my kit and that it was still down at sf p.d. and they were going to have to match the evidence with my kit and they also told me to follow-up within six months. so i followed up six months later and i was told that my kit was still not processed. that it was not a priority and that i needed to put it into my iphone to keep

following up with somebody from sf p.d. every three months. so six moss later i followed up again and now we are talking i believe a year 1/2. i was told the same thing that i needed to follow-up within six months and at that point i got to a point where following up in person, following up over the phone, trying to attain any information was becoming very frustrating and retraumatizing because i was continually being told that my kit was not a priority and i was drugged and raped by an unknown person which is at a citywide event to know that that's going on there was of concern to me and i thought it would be a high priority. when i followed up

after two years, the inspect or told me that again it was not a priority and that it would eventually be tested but he couldn't tell me, he said it could be anywhere from two months to 20 years at that point where it would be process. i'm an artist and i was working at a wood shop conference and a woman saw my show and she said this was absolutely absurd. she contacted commissioner loftus and within 14 days i heard back from somebody who processed my kit. but the 14 days that it

was supposed to take for my kit to be processed turned into 868 days and i am very concerned that even though the inspector has said that in 2013 they have made a lot of changes and there is more staff on board to process these kits, i am concerned that there is still a backlog because why would my one kit just happen to slip through the cracks regardless of whether it's a known or unknown suspect. they both of these two men have just spoke and said they do test every single kit within a 14 day to 9 month period and my kit far extended that timeframe and had

i not had the influential activist who helped me to connect with commissioner loftus, i do believe that my kit would still be outstanding. so i don't really want to go on any further, but i wanted to draw this turn -- concern and it's a concern for me and the welfare of our whole city. >> thank you, miss marlow. >> thank you for your courage in coming here tonight. >> commissioners, from san francisco. i want to thank you for this opportunity. following the presentation which the presenters and commission get unlimited time to make comments and ask questions those of us in the public only get three minutes and we have to get triage and talk aboue