Justice denied: Rape kits left untested in several states
Justice is being delayed or denied for thousands of women who reported being raped. In five major cities alone, more than 9,000 rape kits have gone untested.
In 1998, Brenda Tracy reported to police in Oregon that she was gang-raped by four football players. At a hospital, nurses gathered evidence for a rape kit.
"I assumed it would stay with the police and be tested," said Tracy. "I assumed they would do something with it."
The men were arrested based on Tracy's identification but she says she was intimidated and dropped the charges. Years later, she reconsidered -- but discovered her rape kit had never been tested and in fact had been destroyed.
"I was devastated because I did everything right and I told the police what happened to me," she said. "And I was betrayed."
New data gathered by the Joyful Heart Foundation, a non-profit that works on national sexual assault issues, shows there are many cities where thousands of rape kits remain untested.
More than a thousand in Charlotte and Kansas City, Missouri, nearly 2,000 in Jacksonville and Portland and almost 3,000 in San Diego.
"I have worked with a lot of rape survivors whose kits have gone untested and they suffer through a lot of shame, and they still blame themselves because often their kit could be the evidence that is needed to show that they were telling the truth," said Ilsa Knecht, who is with the foundation.
In the last five years, CBS News has reported on several cities where rape kits sat untested. In one of those cities, Cleveland, once the kits were analyzed, they revealed 225 men were potentially linked to multiple rapes.
Brenda Tracy is now working on legislation in Oregon.
"I want them to be tested, these victims have allowed for evidence to be gathered from their bodies and they deserve to have the DNA tested, every DNA kit should be tested, every case, every time," she said.
CBS News contacted police departments with the largest numbers of untested rape kits to get their responses.
JACKSONVILLE
OFFICER CHRISTIAN HANCOCK, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, FLORIDA:
"As you are aware, the practice of not sending each rape kit in for analysis is a national trend. When the deficiency was identified, about one year ago, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office began a comprehensive look into the number of untested rape kits.
At that time we conducted a complete inventory of our property room and discovered we possessed 1943 rape test kits that had not been sent in for analysis.
Since then we have made strides to reduce, and will eventually eliminate the inventory of untested rape kits. We here at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office are ahead of most agencies in that we did recognize the concern raised by not testing each kit; conducted the comprehensive inventory; and began working to reduce that number.
BACKGROUND: In past practices, every test kit or sample acquired during a sexual assault case was not tested for several reasons: If the case being investigated had a known suspect and a confession from the suspect, the test would not be sent in for analysis. Likewise, if we had a victim that refused to cooperate or refused to prosecute, the kit would not be sent in. Regardless of the circumstance, these kits were collected and maintained as part of the investigation into the case, should it would be needed in future prosecution.
We do recognize that the significant advancements into DNA processing technology may produce more positive results than would have been previously obtained, and are committed to continuing to submit, incrementally, the older kits until the entire amount have been tested. Unfortunately, with the extra load placed on labs to test kits from current cases PLUS to help alleviate the other inventory, we were/are not able to submit all of the untested kits at one time, but we have reduced the amount by 380 to date.
Upon identifying the issue, we began working to correct this and have been submitting these kits regardless of suspect confessions or lack of cooperation from victims. This increased volume of kit testing done today includes: all current cases AND an additional 30-50 kits per month, submitted with the goal of reducing the number of untested kits to zero. To date we have reduced the number from 1943 by 380 kits.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office continues to be sensitive to the victims in sexual assault cases and pledges to continue to submit all rape kits for testing in current cases as we work to solve these cases. We will also submit all kits in inventory in an effort to solve those cases, as well."
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SAN DIEGO
LT. SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT:
"The 2800 untested rape kits do not represent a backlog of evidence waiting for analysis. At any given time, there are fewer than 20 sex crimes cases waiting for processing in our laboratory. The San Diego Police Department takes every sex crimes case very seriously.
Every reported case is immediately investigated and evaluated by a Sex Crimes Detective. In every case, a review is done of all the evidence to determine the most appropriate strategy for processing.
The 2800 cases represent 25 years of rape kits that have been collected in sexual assault cases which were not forwarded to our crime laboratory for analysis.
Reasons for this may include, the victim no longer desires an investigation, it was determined during investigative follow up that a crime did not occur, or an analysis of the kit would yield a result that does not meet the Federal guidelines for input into the DNA database. Sexual assault cases are victim driven investigations and only proceed forward with victim cooperation."
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PORTLAND
PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU APPLYING FOR GRANT FUNDING TO TEST SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE (SAFE) KITS
The Portland Police Bureau is applying for grant funding to address the costs associated with testing the inventory of untested sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kits that are maintained in the Bureau's Property and Evidence Division.
The Bureau has done a review of all untested SAFE kits and has found a total of 1,931 SAFE kits that have not been submitted to the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for testing (excluding "Jane Doe" or anonymous kits). "Jane Doe" or anonymous kits are collected by a medical facility from a person wishing to remain anonymous.
This review went back to 1985, which corresponds with the oldest kit maintained in the Bureau's Property and Evidence Division. During the same 29 year timeframe, a total of 3,835 SAFE kits were collected as part of 31,894 sex crimes cases.
There are many reasons why these SAFE kits were never submitted for testing by the Bureau. These reasons include, but are not limited to:
- The suspect's identity was not in question.
- The evidence was not needed for prosecution.
- The case was non-prosecutable.
- The victim chose not to participate with the investigation.
- The investigation determined that no crime was committed.
- Discretion left to investigator, due to no mandatory submission policy.
The Portland Police Bureau is submitting a grant to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in the hopes of obtaining funding to test all untested SAFE kits and to do the requisite investigative follow-up that may come as a result. This grant only addresses those kits that have never been sent to a crime lab and requires tracking of every SAFE kit through the entire process, from submission to final resolution.
If the Bureau is awarded the grant, the untested SAFE kits will be submitted to outside labs for testing.
The Portland Police Bureau is committed to working with the Oregon State Police Crime Lab, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and other Multnomah County law enforcement agencies on this effort.
Victims of sexual assault who want to inquire about the status of their SAFE kit may email roseproject@portlandoregon.gov or call (503) 823-0125 and provide the following information:
- Full name at the time of the police report
- Date of birth
- Case number (if known)
- Date and location of the sexual assault (approximate if exact not known)
- Current phone number and best time to contact
These cases are highly confidential and if investigators are unable to verify the victim's identity, no information will be released.
The Portland Police Bureau collaborates with government agencies and community organizations that provide access to advocacy services to victims of sexual assaults.
A victim may be accompanied by a sexual assault advocate or other appropriate support person during the reporting process and/or criminal investigation.
Multnomah County Victims' Assistance Program: Provides support during the reporting of sexual assaults and referrals to victim services and resources:(503) 988-3222.
Portland Women's Crisis Line (PWCL): Provides access to advocacy services, including confidential peer support, information and referrals to community resources: 24 hour crisis line: (503) 235-5333, or 1-888-235-5333.
Project UNICA - (Proyecto UNICA): Provides access to advocacy services for Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic and sexual violence. 24 hour crisis line: (503) 232-4448, or 1-888-232-4448.
Additionally, the Portland Police Bureau Strength Programs provide free self-defense classes and personal safety workshops to people around the Portland area.
To learn more information about these programs, call (503) 823-0260 or visit http://www.portlandonline.com/police/womenstrength
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KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT:
The Kansas City Missouri Police Department recently provided requested information to the Joyful Heart Foundation about untested rape kits. The Foundation featured Kansas City as one of the agencies that responded to their request and thanked the Department for doing so.
The statistics showed KCPD has 1,324 untested rape kits. Because of limited resources, the testing of rape kits is prioritized based on prosecution needs. The kit of a rape survivor who is ready to move forward with investigation and prosecution is tested as quickly as possible by the Kansas City Regional Crime Laboratory. Because of the trauma of the experience, some rape survivors are not yet ready to pursue investigation and prosecution. A little less than half of the 1,324 untested rape kits fall into that category. The kits were collected at hospitals by certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) nurses, but the victims never filed reports with police.
However, police store all of this evidence at least until the statute of limitations on the case expires. If a rape survivor decides he or she wants to pursue the case at a later date, the rape kit will be tested promptly at that time.
The KCPD has worked diligently with the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) to ensure every rape survivor who goes to the hospital for a rape kit is met by a MOCSA advocate. The advocates and SANE nurses have worked with police to ensure every survivor who leaves the hospital knows what to do should they wish to pursue criminal charges against their assailant.
The KCPD certainly recognizes the value of intelligence information that could be gathered from testing all rape kits, and it will do so as resources become available. The Department currently is pursuing grants to expand its ability to test cases.
While the following list is not all inclusive, it represents some of the reasons that rape kits are not tested on all cases. Regardless of the reason, KCPD maintains and secures all rape kits for a time no less than the statute of limitations mandates for the specified offense.
- No Prosecution (At Victim's Request)
- Anonymous Kit - (No Report Filed)
- Declined by Prosecutor
- Case Adjudicated
- Offense occurred outside of KCPD Jurisdiction
- Alford (No-Contest) Pleas
- DNA not Probative
- Child-on-Child cases
- Victim Deceased (Cold Cases)
KCPD's goal in sexual assault investigations is to provide the best possible service to the survivor and to ensure the best possible case is presented for prosecution.
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CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT:
CMPD takes any allegation of a sexual assault very seriously and investigates each case thoroughly, completely and to a proper conclusion.
Between 2004 and 2014, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has investigated more than 3000 sexual assaults and received more than 2700 sexual assault kits.
It is the practice of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to immediately submit sexual assault kits for any reported sexual assault involving a stranger.
Of those approximately 2700 kits, more than 1700 have been tested and processed by the lab, and are therefore complete.
There are approximately 1000 remaining untested kits within our current evidence inventory.
Of that number, approximately 650 of these kits are related to cases that are already closed.
This leaves approximately 350 untested sexual assault kits involving open investigations.
Of these 350, a portion have been submitted for testing and the remainder are being reviewed to determine the need for analysis.
It is not the practice of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to submit sexual assault kits for testing in the following circumstances:
A victim declines the test of a sexual assault kit because she/he has elected not to prosecute.
The sexual contact between the victim and the suspect is not in dispute therefore the evidence would not be needed for successful prosecution.
The investigation revealed that the allegation is unfounded.