Colorado police departments failing to test rape kits

"A six-month investigation by KMGH-Denver found police departments across Colorado were failing to test hundreds of rape kits, critical evidence taken from a victim’s body after a sexual assault."

"While most departments said kits are rarely tested when the victim knows the suspect, one police department said these rape kits were prohibited from being tested due to state and federal law."

“While the case of Cpl. Lisa Steed, the one-time Trooper of the Year who is suspected of falsifying arrest reports and lying on the witness stand, has grabbed headlines, an investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune revealed wider problems in how UHP investigates and adjudicates accusations of misconduct among its 425 troopers — a number that puts it neck and neck with the Salt Lake City Police Department to be the largest police force in the state.”

A KCRA Investigation following missing parolees found a serious flaw in the state’s prison realignment plan.

Sexual predators are supposed to be monitored by GPS under California’s Megan’s Law.  But KCRA has obtained a wanted list of parolees who either cut off or never showed up to wear their GPS monitor.  More than a thousand are missing and 900 of those are sex offenders. 

Under California’s realignment plan, even if the predators are caught it’s not a felony to cut off your GPS.  Last year, you’d serve out all of your sentence in the state pen.  Today, they don’t go back to prison, they end up in the county jail.  KCRA reviewed more than 8,000 parolee offenses over the last year and found most get minimal jail time ... if any.

"The Atlanta police helicopter that crashed Saturday night, killing two officers, was a Vietnam War-era chopper that city officials 11 years ago said had outlived its useful life."

This investigation by Mike Morris of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the council approved funds for a new helicopter, but the helicopter in question was still being used.

"A KCRA investigation found that the California Department of Corrections quietly began a “review process” that could effectively let nearly 10,000 people who ran away from parole off the hook." 

"Using sourced internal memos and lists of parolees KCRA was able to determine that the 3-phase program would review everyone from minor offenders to those accused of the most violent offenses were in a hurried review that would end before July of next year.  If the prison system doesn’t discharge them, the warrants all end up in the hands of the county."

Welcome to IRE's roundup of the weekend’s many enterprise stories from around the country. We’ll highlight the document digging, field work and data analysis that made their way into centerpieces in print, broadcast and online from coast to coast. Coverage this week was dominated by the election, but there was some watchdog coverage to be found in other areas. In preview of the election, we've got a roundup of some of the data-driven work that's been done this campaign season.

Did we miss some? Let us know.  Send us an email at web@ire.org or tweet to @IRE_NICAR. We’ll add it to the list and spread the word. 

The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Atlanta police wanted helicopter replaced in 2001 
"The Atlanta police helicopter that crashed Saturday night, killing two officers, was a Vietnam War-era chopper that city officials 11 years ago said had outlived its useful life."

The Indianapolis Star
Just 1 in 10 Indianapolis residents recycle. Why is that?
"Just 10 percent of households participate in curbside recycling. That means Indianapolis, which has been striving since 2008 to become 'the most sustainable city in the Midwest,' has one of the most underused recycling programs in the nation for a city its size."

The Milwuakee Journal Sentinel
With no oversight, police can ignore domestic violence laws
"Wisconsin's laws on how police must respond to domestic violence are among the most comprehensive in the country, but no one has the authority to enforce them, a Journal Sentinel investigation has found. And if the laws are ignored, there are no penalties."

The Houston Chronicle
Alleged HISD fee scheme detailed
"HISD trustee Larry Marshall voted repeatedly to award taxpayer-funded contracts to companies that hired his longtime business associate - who gave him a cut of her earnings, according to court records, deposition testimony and interviews."

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Parking ticket abuse rampant by Rochester Police
"A month-long investigation by the Democrat and Chronicle revealed that the Police Department routinely violated its own policies by fixing tickets for officers and their friends and relatives for flimsy excuses or none at all."

The Palm Beach Post
Felons, dead people are eligible voters on final Palm Beach County roll 
"Peter Costello, a felon convicted of racketeering and fraud in 1998, has no right to vote because his civil rights never have been restored.But that didn’t stop the registered Republican from casting a ballot in the Aug. 14 primary, and, he said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post, submitting an absentee ballot for Tuesday’s election."

"A month-long investigation by the Democrat and Chronicle revealed that the Police Department routinely violated its own policies by fixing tickets for officers and their friends and relatives for flimsy excuses or none at all."

Through an open-records request, the Democrat and Chronicle found that between August 2009 and July 2012, a total of $7,800 parking tickets were dismissed, adding up to $272,000 worth of fines.

"While the nation disputes if, when and where the government should use drones over U.S. soil, Texas state police are taking their surveillance efforts to the next level.  In a little-noticed July purchase, officials at the Texas Department of Public Safety inked a $7.4 million contract with the Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. for a high-altitude spy plane. Unique technology affixed to the state’s new aircraft could raise the ire of civil libertarians and privacy advocates."

"Texas state police spokesman Tom Vinger said most of the plane’s missions will be carried out on the border between the United States and Mexico, and "serve as a tool in assisting specific joint operations that are clearly defined by area and duration.”

"The New Jersey State Police are one of only two statewide law enforcement agencies in the country to rely almost entirely on the opinion of supervisors for promotions, a practice most discarded years ago in favor of more objective written and verbal exams."

"A Star-Ledger survey found that the Rhode Island State Police, with a force a fraction the size of New Jersey’s, was the only other to use such a subjective system. But even there, one high-ranking official said he is expecting changes."