On the Job 

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office have been awarded a grant of almost $440,000 to identify ways to streamline the analytical process of testing Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs).

The joint project, the “Use of Statistical Modeling to Optimize Sexual Assault Kit Analysis,” will employ data mining of the results of the SAKs processed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) as part of the Attorney General's Sexual Assault Kit Testing Initiative in order to develop best-practice models for analysis.

BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the Laura and John Arnold Foundation grant in July. 

“This is another exciting collaborative project,” DeWine said. “Testing these old sexual assault kits is leading to convictions, and by probing the data, we can become even more efficient in the testing process.”

“We’re proud to be part of this important effort,” Mazey said. “It is an excellent opportunity for our faculty and students to contribute their skills and expertise to improving a process that benefits both law enforcement and the larger society.”

Jon Sprague, director of the Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science at BGSU, will lead the project. James Albert, a professor of statistics at BGSU, and Lewis Maddox, a DNA technical leader at BCI, will serve as co-investigators. Also involved in the project are D.J. Heckman, a first-year master’s student in statistical analysis, and Jaimie Kerka, a BCI data analyst working at the agency’s Richfield location.

While BCI currently analyzes everything contained in the kits, it is believed that the information resulting from the study will help shape the sequence in which pieces are tested. Determining the sequence is expected to result in cost savings associated with greater efficiency.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science is a joint endeavor between the university and the BCI laboratory located on BGSU’s campus, and promotes collaboration between the two. The center fosters cutting-edge forensic science research and provides educational programs for BGSU students, forensic scientists, criminal investigators and other law enforcement practitioners.