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The Salt Lake City Police Department and City Council want the same result from sex-assault investigations — but they have sharp disagreements on how to get there.
This week the council took another significant step toward requiring police to analyze forensic evidence collected in so-called Code R kits — also known as "rape kits" — from every reported sex assault. It unanimously adopted policy statements that will serve as the foundation for a new ordinance that would require just that.
Police Chief Chris Burbank, on the other hand, has said repeatedly that such a policy isn't necessary, nor an efficient use of resources, particularly when the suspect is known. Further, Burbank has said that one type of crime should not take priority over others.
That's only the beginning of the schism between the city's legislative body and the police department. Although the chief of police answers to the administration, Mayor Ralph Becker has remained silent on the issue and has been conspicuous by his absence.
The council signalled this week that it wants more than a requirement that DNA be analyzed in rape cases — it also wants a systemwide upgrade from first response to prosecution. The recognition of the low rate of sex-assault prosecutions is at the heart of the council's call for new and better training techniques.
But the police department appears less than enthusiastic to a proposed makeover. Earlier this week, Burbank and special victims unit Sgt. Derek Christensen reiterated to the council the department's stance on Code R kits. Further, Christensen questioned the veracity of data reported by researcher Julie Valentine, whose studies revealed that only 6 percent of reported sex assaults are prosecuted across Salt Lake County.
According to Christensen, Salt Lake City's arrest rate for sex assault is more like 20 percent.
The national movement to test all DNA evidence gathered by specially trained nurses after a report of sex assault reached Salt Lake City earlier this year, largely due to the work of Valentine, a nurse and faculty member at Brigham Young University. She reported that between 2003 and 2011, Salt Lake City police had not analyzed 788 of 1,001 rape kits — 79 percent.
By contrast, Burbank said that he always has approved forensic-evidence analysis if his detectives believe it will further a case. Salt Lake City investigators are "passionate" when it comes solving sex-assault cases, he has said.
In June, the chief initiated the "Code R Project" on the department's website that shows why rape kits weren't analyzed and cases weren't prosecuted. To protect the complainants, it doesn't use real case numbers or identities. The first 40 reevaluated cases now have been posted on line.
Burbank also has invited analysts from the national Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to evaluate all aspects of Salt Lake City police rape investigations. The study is intended to yield "best practices" for investigating sex assaults. The results will be made public, the chief said.
Nonetheless, the council is united behind the proposal that all rape kits be analyzed. It will no longer be left up to detectives whether or not the DNA from a rape kit is analyzed, said Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall in an interview.
"We have to close the gap so that we analyze DNA no matter what the detectives say," she said. "The way we get there is that we require every kit go in."
The transformation the council seeks is more than a policy issue, Mendenhall added. It may require a change in culture at the police department regarding sex-assault investigations, she said.
Councilman Kyle LaMalfa agreed the police department isn't on the same page with the City Council.
But, he added, "The council is committed to focusing on the issue of sex assault and making the process better for victims."
He pointed to the West Valley City Police Department that already has adopted a policy of testing all rape kits. Under Chief Lee Russo, the department has invited a national expert in rape trauma, Michigan State researcher Rebecca Campbell, to train its officers on how to best question victims, particularly immediately after an assault. Campbell's work reveals that the trauma of rape causes the release of a cascade of hormones that disrupts the short-term memory of victims for several days. That can lead investigators to dismiss their allegations as untrue.
In many such cases, the victim withdraws from the case rather than continuing with skeptical detectives, Campbell found.
"It's clear the (Salt Lake City police) officers want to do the best job they can," LaMalfa said. "But it's got to come from the top if there is going to be change."
Cooperation between the council and the police department is key for any proposed policy to be successful, said Council Chairman Charlie Luke.
He conceded that there is "ground to cover in getting the police department on board."
Although the council can require rape-kit testing and fund further training, it cannot dictate how policies are implemented at ground level, he noted.
"Collaboration will be critical," Luke said. "I hope the police department will look closely at the policy statements we unanimously endorsed."
Luke said he would like the council to vote on a new sex-assault ordinance before year's end. But, he added, that would depend on whether the council and police department can come closer to an understanding.
S.L.C. Council's sex-assault policy statements
• Salt Lake City pursues justice for all sexual-assault cases.
• Timely testing of DNA evidence from all Code R kits serves a high public interest.
• DNA evidence from known suspects can have evidentiary value in other cases.
• The statewide backlog of Code R kits affects multiple law-enforcement agencies.
• Testing DNA evidence is only part of the investigative process.
• Increasing investigations will increase demands on police, prosecutors and courts.
• All victims deserve certainty that cases are being pursued and DNA is recorded.