2014 FOIA Request
Why did we send the FOIA?
In 2014, the Joyful Heart Foundation launched The Accountability Project to uncover the extent of the backlog across the country. In 2015, Joyful Heart and our pro bono attorneys sent public records requests to twenty-six of the country’s most populous cities for which we did not have any or had very little information about their untested rape kits.
What did we discover?
Boston Police Department (BPD) stated that all kits received are submitted to the BPD crime lab for testing, although testing may be halted upon officer request (if, for instance, a survivor is deemed “uncooperative”). Although BPD indicated they received 882 rape kits into evidence between 2009 and 2013, it is unclear how many of these kits were halted after being submitted to the lab.
More Accountability Targets in Massachusetts
Brockton, MACambridge, MAFall River, MAHaverhill, MALawrence, MALowell, MALynn, MAMalden, MANew Bedford, MANewton, MAQuincy, MASomerville, MASpringfield, MAState Police Crime Lab, MAWaltham, MAWorcester, MA
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.