2020 FOIA Request
Why did we send the FOIA?
In 2020, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released a report, announcing at least 13,929 untested kits in the state. Pursuant to AB 3118, the Department of Justice is mandated to collect information from all law enforcement agencies (LEAs), “medical facilities, crime laboratories, and any other facility that maintains, stores, or preserves sexual assault kits.” However, only 149 LEAs and crime labs out of 708 submitted data, and we still do not know the extent of the backlog in California. To shed light on the true extent of the backlog in California, through The Accountability Project, Joyful Heart has issued public records requests to police departments in the 21 largest cities in California that have not participated in the inventory.
What did we discover?
Our partners at Goodwin submitted an open records request to the City of Glendale on October 6, 2020. On November 2, 2020, the City provided its policy on sexual assault investigations and on property and evidence, however, denied to provide data on kits.
On March 25, 2021, after follow-up emails and calls to the city, the Police Department provided an inventory list of collected kits (1986-2018). Unfortunately the list does not include information regarding testing status of the kits collected before 2018. No data is provided regarding if any kits are destroyed or lost, and how anonymous kits are handled.
On April 26, 2021, the City provided that as of 2018, information regarding sexual assault kits is provided electronically to the California Department of Justice. According to these records, since January 2018, the Glendale PD has received 32 sexual assault kits, 13 of which were not tested for the following reasons: “Crime cannot be substantiated, Case is unfounded, Insufficient evidence, Victim declines, Victim recanted, Suspect admission, Known perpetrator”.
Based on these documents, in total the PD collected 166 kits, of which, 19 kits collected since 2018 were tested and 13 were untested. We do not know if the remaining 134 kits collected before 2018 were tested or not.
On March 25, 2021, after follow-up emails and calls to the city, the Police Department provided an inventory list of collected kits (1986-2018). Unfortunately the list does not include information regarding testing status of the kits collected before 2018. No data is provided regarding if any kits are destroyed or lost, and how anonymous kits are handled.
On April 26, 2021, the City provided that as of 2018, information regarding sexual assault kits is provided electronically to the California Department of Justice. According to these records, since January 2018, the Glendale PD has received 32 sexual assault kits, 13 of which were not tested for the following reasons: “Crime cannot be substantiated, Case is unfounded, Insufficient evidence, Victim declines, Victim recanted, Suspect admission, Known perpetrator”.
Based on these documents, in total the PD collected 166 kits, of which, 19 kits collected since 2018 were tested and 13 were untested. We do not know if the remaining 134 kits collected before 2018 were tested or not.
More Accountability Targets in California
Bakersfield, CAConcord, CACorona, CAFremont, CAFresno, CAFullerton, CAGarden Grove, CAHayward, CALong Beach, CAOrange, CAOxnard, CAPasadena, CAPomona, CARedding, CASacramento, CASalinas, CASan Bernardino, CASan Diego, CASan Jose, CASanta Barbara, CASanta Cruz, CASanta Monica, CASanta Rosa, CAShasta County, CASimi Valley, CAStockton, CATorrance, CAVallejo, CAVisalia, CA
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.