                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SUBMISSION OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE RECOVERY KITS AND TRACE EVIDENCE COLLECTION KITS
TO THE DEPARTMENT (§ 19.2-11.8)

A. A law-enforcement agency that receives a physical evidence recovery kit shall
submit the physical evidence recovery kit to the Department for analysis within
60 days of receipt, except under the following circumstances: (i) it is an
anonymous physical evidence recovery kit that shall be forwarded to the Division
for storage; (ii) the physical evidence recovery kit was collected by the Office
of the Chief Medical Examiner as part of a routine death investigation, and the
medical examiner and the law-enforcement agency agree that analysis is not
warranted; (iii) the physical evidence recovery kit is connected to an offense
that occurred outside of the Commonwealth; (iv) the physical evidence recovery
kit was determined by the law-enforcement agency not to be connected to a
criminal offense; or (v) another law-enforcement agency has taken over
responsibility for the investigation related to the physical evidence recovery
kit. When a state or local law-enforcement agency located within the
Commonwealth has taken over responsibility for the investigation related to the
physical evidence recovery kit as provided in clause (v), unless one of the
exceptions in clause (i) through (iv) also applies, the physical evidence
recovery kit shall be transferred to such law-enforcement agency and such
law-enforcement agency shall submit the physical evidence recovery kit to the
Department within 60 days of receipt from the original receiving law-enforcement
agency.

B. Upon completion of analysis, the Department shall return the physical
evidence recovery kit to the submitting law-enforcement agency. Upon receipt of
the physical evidence recovery kit from the Department, the law-enforcement
agency shall store the physical evidence recovery kit for a period of 10 years
or until 10 years after the victim reaches the age of majority if the victim was
a minor at the time of collection, whichever is longer. The law-enforcement
agency shall store the physical evidence recovery kit for a period of 10 years
following the receipt of a written objection to the destruction of the kit from
the victim. After the mandatory retention period or any additional 10-year
storage period has lapsed, the law-enforcement agency shall, unless the victim
has made a written request not to be contacted for this purpose, make a
reasonable effort to notify the victim of the intended destruction of the
physical evidence recovery kit no less than 60 days prior to the intended date
of such destruction. In the absence of a response from the victim, or with the
consent of the victim, the law-enforcement agency may destroy the physical
evidence recovery kit or, in its discretion, may elect to retain the physical
evidence recovery kit for a longer period of time.

C. For physical evidence recovery kits that meet the exceptions in clause (ii)
or (iv) of subsection A or that meet the exception in clause (iii) and (v) of
subsection A that are not transferred to the law-enforcement agency outside of
the Commonwealth in which the offense occurred or to the law-enforcement agency
that has taken over responsibility for the investigation related to the physical
evidence recovery kit, the law-enforcement agency that received the physical
evidence recovery kit shall store such kit for a period of 10 years or until 10
years after the victim reaches the age of majority if the victim was a minor at
the time of collection, whichever is longer. After the mandatory retention
period, the law-enforcement agency may destroy the physical evidence recovery
kit or, in its discretion, may elect to retain the physical evidence recovery
kit for a longer period of time.

D. A law-enforcement agency that receives a trace evidence collection kit may
submit it to the Department for analysis in its discretion to support a
prosecution.

E. The DNA profiles developed from physical evidence recovery kits or trace
evidence collection kits submitted to the Department for analysis pursuant to
this section shall be uploaded into any local, state, or national DNA data bank
only if eligible as determined by Department procedures and in accordance with
state and federal law.

HISTORY: 2016, cc. 332, 698; 2017, c. 535; 2018, c. 398; 2022, cc. 453, 454;
2023, c. 312.