[dogma1138]

There is no way that these would work in the long term without chain of custody, even if some judge would approve the admission of these it would definitely lead and an appeal and there is no way the higher courts would uphold the tests, keep in mind that at home DNA kits are not even admissible in custody / paternal hearings if they are employed in a state that only require the consent of a single parent then at best they can only be used as a justification for a court ordered test.

At home rape kits is a recipe for disaster for rape victims and the legal system.

[thedudeabides5]

You don't know what 'chain of custody means.'

Chain of custody is about tracking evidence after it's received by the justice system.

Chain of custody is about tracking that evidence after the cop gets it, to audit/avoid tampering.

If you get assaulted, and you bring in soiled underwear in a paper bag, that is admissible in court.

The chain of custody starts when the cop puts that underwear in an evidence bag. Otherwise courts would never be able to admit ANY evidence brought forward by a victim.

[dogma1138]

No, the chain of custody starts when the evidence is collected, specifically from where and by what means without that there is no way to establish a CoC.

With these kits there is no way to verify that the DNA swab came from rape victims body or someone’s toothbrush.

This is the problem with these kits, any use of such kit would require a forensic nurse observing the collection, and that each swab is sealed in an evidence tamper bag and then the chain of custody can be established from that point on.

This is no different than any other physical evidence it either needs to be collected from the scene or forensically proven to be connected to it if it was recovered later or by someone else, and in cases when it does the defense will and quite likely successfully get it thrown out.