2015 FOIA Request
Why did we send the FOIA?
In 2015, Joyful Heart issued public records requests to 22 medium sized jurisdictions for which we did not have any or had very little information about their untested rape kits.
What did we discover?
Through our efforts, we have learned that Bismarck Police Department received 420 rape kits between 2001 and 2015, and submitted 56% of these kits to the lab for processing. Of the 74 unprocessed kits remaining in evidence, 18 are anonymous, and should not be tested. As of 2015, BPD has a backlog of 56 untested rape kits from this time period.
Why Accountability?
Right now, we do not know the full extent of the national rape kit backlog because few states require law enforcement agencies to count, track, or test rape kits. The Accountability Project aims to bring greater transparency and accountability to rape kit testing practices across the country.