Statement from Jennifer Harmon, President CACLD, to CalSAFE
To ensure the integrity of evidence used in the criminal justice system it is imperative that the evidence be consistently collected by forensically trained nurses/examiners, chain of custody maintained, and the process to be above reproach. This is best achieved by our forensic nursing teams statewide. Having victims collect their own sexual assault evidence jeopardizes the evidence collection objectivity and therefore the potential outcome of investigations and the adjudication process.