PERK (Physical Evidence Recovery Kit)

The physical evidence recovery kit (PERK) is an assembled set of necessary materials, instructions, and forms for the purpose of collecting and protecting the physical evidence of a sexual assault investigation whenever the victim decides to initiate criminal charges against the alleged assailant. Under most circumstances, the only requirements with regard to using the PERK is that the assault must have taken place within 72 hours of the medical examination and the assailant's semen must be collected from the victim within 24 hours of the sexual assault.

The PERK, also called a sexual assault determination kit, assists the attending doctor and nurse in collecting specimens for evidential analysis by forensic experts. In many cases, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE nurse) or Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE nurse) will perform the collection of evidence through the use of the PERK, along with documenting any physical damage on the victim. The kit may be used at the hospital or at the crime scene by a qualified criminal investigation team.

In addition to the medical examination, the victim will be asked about details of the assault to be included within the PERK. To document all aspects of the sexual attack, a variety of information will be recorded, such as the type of assault, type of sexual penetration, location of the attack, and past medical history of the victim, along with her past and present health conditions, date of last menstrual period, history of contraceptive use, date of most recent consensual sexual activity, and other such personal information.

In order to obtain all relevant materials and information in the most accurate, consistent, and methodical way possible, the PERK is a very convenient way to collect and document the forensic evidence. Usually within a container made of cardboard or other similar material, the PERK generally contains (but is not limited to) the following items: instructions for the medical examination; one procedural checklist; one report form; one patient consent form; one patient information form; tape for sealing evidence; one label for the outside container; one roll of wrapping material such as cellophane tape; numerous paper envelopes for hair samples (from the pubic area, head, chest, face, and other body areas), saliva , blood , foreign materials, and other necessary specimens; one orange stick for fingernail undersurface scrapings; one blood vacuum tube; two standard-sized combs; one pre-sharpened pencil; three sets of prepackaged swabs and smear (usually for collecting vaginal, rectal, and oral smear samples); three frosted-end microscope slides; and three rectangular cardboard tubes.

see also Privacy, legal and ethical issues; Rape kit; Semen and sperm.

perk¹ / pərk/ • v. [intr.] (perk up) become more cheerful, lively, or interesting: in the second half, the dance perked up she'd been depressed, but she seemed to perk up last week. ∎  [tr.] (perk someone/something up) make someone or something more cheerful, lively, or interesting: the coffee had perked him up long enough to tackle the reviews.• adj. dial. perky; pert.perk² • n. (usu. perks) inf. money, goods, or other benefit to which one is entitled as an employee or as a shareholder of a company: many agencies are helping to keep personnel at their jobs by providing perks. ∎  an advantage or benefit following from a job or situation: they were busy discovering the perks of town life.perk³ inf. • v. [intr.] (of coffee) percolate: while the coffee perks, head out for the morning paper. ∎  [tr.] percolate (coffee).

perk (intr., pass.) carry oneself jauntily, be spruce or smart XIV; (trans.) project or raise in a brisk manner XVI. The earliest instances refer to the action of birds and suggest deriv. from perk sb., var. of PERCH2, or a transf. use of perk vb. perch (both now obs. or dial.) — dial. F. *perque, *perquer, vars. of perche, percher.
Hence perky (-Y1) XIX.

PERK (pʔːk) perchloreth(yl)ene (solvent)