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 Vallejo on December 21, 2020. On December 30, 2020, the Vallejo Police Department provided its policy on evidence handling, but stated they cannot provide data.
On May 17, 2020, our partners requested information from Vallejo city attorney regarding untested kits. On August 3, 2021, the city attorney responded by stating that the Vallejo PD does not keep aggregate data and cannot provide information. However, sexual assault response team (SART) nurses collect two swab samples from the victim, one of which is sent by the nurse directly to a Department of Justice facility for testing via Rapid DNA Service (RADS) program (RADs), and the other is booked into evidence at the PD.
Upon this response, we reached out to the attorney general’s office and the Department of Justice Richmond Crime Lab (RCL) on November 8, 2021. The attorney general’s office responded with a letter on December 13, 2021, stating that since 2011, Vallejo swabs have been directly submitted to the RCL under the RADS program (skipping Vallejo PD). After 2011, Vallejo PD had 217 kits collected, 213 tested, and the remaining 4 were still within 120 days of lab turnaround time. There are no records of destroyed or lost kits. Any non-RADS kits, and kits collected before 2011 are submitted to Vallejo PD first, then to Sacramento Bureau of Forensic Services Regional Laboratory (which analyzes DNA for VPD). The attorney general’s office stated that they cannot provide data on kits collected before 2000, as those are in paper form and not archived online, and inventorying them would require additional time and staff. Unreported kits are non-exempt from mandatory timelines for SAKs, so they are tested as well. The attorney general’s office also provided us with a Biology Screening and DNA Analysis Policy, Bureau Policy, and Bureau of Forensic Services Quality Manual – Evidence Disposition.
On March 11, 2022, the Sacramento Bureau of Forensic Services Regional Laboratory responded to our request, providing data from 1999-2021, which shows only 8 kits collected from the VPD, 6 of which were tested, 2 were not tested, 0 were stored unprocessed, and 0 were destroyed or lost. The Sacramento Lab also referred to the policies and procedures at the Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory (JB Lab), and stated that by law, they follow the lab testing timelines and test all the kits, including unreported kits.
On November 8, 2021, we also sent a FOIA letter to the JB Lab to request data on SAKs they received from Vallejo. The JB Lab did not respond to our request.
Overall, we uncovered that in Vallejo between 1999-2021, 225 kits were collected, 219 were tested, 2 were not tested, 4 were within 120 days of the lab turnaround timeline, and no kits were destroyed or lost. The labs follow the state law and test all kits, including anonymous kits, within the 120 day period.
On May 17, 2020, our partners requested information from Vallejo city attorney regarding untested kits. On August 3, 2021, the city attorney responded by stating that the Vallejo PD does not keep aggregate data and cannot provide information. However, sexual assault response team (SART) nurses collect two swab samples from the victim, one of which is sent by the nurse directly to a Department of Justice facility for testing via Rapid DNA Service (RADS) program (RADs), and the other is booked into evidence at the PD.
Upon this response, we reached out to the attorney general’s office and the Department of Justice Richmond Crime Lab (RCL) on November 8, 2021. The attorney general’s office responded with a letter on December 13, 2021, stating that since 2011, Vallejo swabs have been directly submitted to the RCL under the RADS program (skipping Vallejo PD). After 2011, Vallejo PD had 217 kits collected, 213 tested, and the remaining 4 were still within 120 days of lab turnaround time. There are no records of destroyed or lost kits. Any non-RADS kits, and kits collected before 2011 are submitted to Vallejo PD first, then to Sacramento Bureau of Forensic Services Regional Laboratory (which analyzes DNA for VPD). The attorney general’s office stated that they cannot provide data on kits collected before 2000, as those are in paper form and not archived online, and inventorying them would require additional time and staff. Unreported kits are non-exempt from mandatory timelines for SAKs, so they are tested as well. The attorney general’s office also provided us with a Biology Screening and DNA Analysis Policy, Bureau Policy, and Bureau of Forensic Services Quality Manual – Evidence Disposition.
On March 11, 2022, the Sacramento Bureau of Forensic Services Regional Laboratory responded to our request, providing data from 1999-2021, which shows only 8 kits collected from the VPD, 6 of which were tested, 2 were not tested, 0 were stored unprocessed, and 0 were destroyed or lost. The Sacramento Lab also referred to the policies and procedures at the Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory (JB Lab), and stated that by law, they follow the lab testing timelines and test all the kits, including unreported kits.
On November 8, 2021, we also sent a FOIA letter to the JB Lab to request data on SAKs they received from Vallejo. The JB Lab did not respond to our request.
Overall, we uncovered that in Vallejo between 1999-2021, 225 kits were collected, 219 were tested, 2 were not tested, 4 were within 120 days of the lab turnaround timeline, and no kits were destroyed or lost. The labs follow the state law and test all kits, including anonymous kits, within the 120 day period.
More Accountability Targets in California
Bakersfield, CAConcord, CACorona, CAFremont, CAFresno, CAFullerton, CAGarden Grove, CAGlendale, 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, 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.