Posted in: D5

D5 Clothing Kit

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This kit has everything required to collect Clothing from your patient, suspect or a diseased individual. This includes Large, Medium and Small Gusseted brown paper bags for various sized samples.

  • Peel Pouch Step 1, 2 and 3 for the collection of various clothing samples
  • All required Tamper Evident Seals and Evidence Sealing Bag are supplied
  • Desiccant pouches to keep the collected samples dry
  • A documentation form is included for record keeping
  • A quick reference instruction pamphlet is also included

How do I obtain a kit to use?

Some hospital facilities pre-order D5 kits and carry them in stock. If your facility does not carry stock of any of the Body Collection Series, you will receive your kit needs from the SAPS. Usually a police Officer will deliver the required kit or kits at the same time the Officer brings the patient, suspect to your facility or at time of examining a deceased individual.

If you require an examination kit and the kit/s were not supplied by the Police Officer, it is recommended that you immediately phone the SAPS Officer and ask for urgent delivery of the kit/s you require.

 

Basic principle of D5 Clothing Collection Kit

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The principal of this D5 Clothing Collection Kit is to collect forensic evidence from the clothing of a sexually assaulted individual, in the hope that the perpetrator / rapist has left trace evidence of his DNA by way of his semen, saliva, blood or debris from the crime scene.

After collection, the sealed D5 Clothing Collection Kit will then be analyzed by the SAPS Science Laboratory and the DNA results will be used for further investigation.
As a medical practitioner, the collection of clothing using this kit must be done correctly to avoid cross contamination of the potential DNA evidence.
If done correctly, the collection of clothing is a simple, quick and easy process.
The D5 Kit contains 3 brown paper bags to collect the patient’s clothing into.
  • There is a Large bag – to collect a large clothing item.
  • There is a Medium bag – to collect a medium sized clothing item.
  • There is a Small bag – to collect the smaller clothing item.

But please note; you may not put two or more separate items into one bag. (except for items like a pair of shoes or socks).

For example, do not place a t-shirt and bra into one bag, as possible evidence on the bra for instance may now be contaminated or confusing to the investigation.

As your patient probably has more than just 3 clothing items it is up to you to determine which 3 items of clothing may contain the best samples of evidence. Speak to your patient. Ask them to describe what they recall from the attack. “Did the perpetrator climax and do you think any of his semen may be on your clothes? Did he bleed on you or your clothes?” or “I see a blood stain on your dress, do you think that may be the blood of your attacker?” This will help you choose which items to collect.
In the case of your patient being sexually penetrated by her attacker, always collect the panties into the small bag.
If you feel that strong DNA evidence may be found on more that 3 items of clothing and you feel it is important to collect more items, open another D5 Clothing Collection Kit.
With the second kit, treat it as a new collection process by completing the documentation, collect items of clothing as described above and seal the Evidence Sealing Bags in the normal way.
 

About this User Manual

The D5  Clothing  Collection Kit contains a fairly basic 2 page Quick Reference User Guide as a simple reminder of the steps required to perform the evidence collection from the patient, suspect of deceased individual during the examination.

This Acino Kit  User Guide Manual goes into the process in a lot more detail and is supported with detailed photographs and covers general topics of forensic evidence collection such as:

– what to look for when collecting clothing samples,

– dealing with your patient, suspect or deceased individual

– the psychological effects of rape

and includes a very clear step-by-step process of using the kit.

This User Guide Manual is ideal for first time users of the kit, but it also ideal for those who want to broaden their knowledge around evidence collection, crime scene forensics or the effects rape has on both the patient and the doctor.

This User Guide Manual has been developed to be viewed on the internet, on a tablet or on your cell phone. If electronic devices are not available to all who require access to the User Guide, a downloadable PDF version is available to registered users and may be printed.

Physicians

Physicians play a key role in directing and providing care for rape victims. A major part of this care is the proper collection of evidence from rape victims.

D5-01dHere are some recommendations for how you can be better prepared to help rape victims:

  • Have a desire to work with those dealing with the trauma of sexual assault
  • Receive adequate training for gathering forensic evidence in cases of sexual assault
  • Work to create “safe space” in a hospital setting for victims to be seen and examined
  • Possess a sense of social justice for sexual assault victims
  • Function as part of a Sexual Assault Response program in your community
  • Use the D5 Kit with dedication and attention to detail

Nurses

Nurses play a major role in the healing process of rape survivors.

Rape survivors have about five needs that nurses can meet:

  • Documentation of and caring for any injuries
  • Collection of forensic evidence
  • Dealing with STD and pregnancy concerns
  • Crisis intervention
  • Follow-up services
  • Use the D5 Kit with dedication and attention to detail