Memphis Police Failed to Properly Investigate “Hundreds” of Rape Cases
By Melissa Gira Grant Source: In Justice Today November 21, 2017 The Memphis Police Department failed to discipline detectives who routinely left rape kits untested, former Memphis Police Lieutenant Cody Wilkerson testified on November 8. Memphis police...
Allegations against him by 3 women ‘isolated’ incidents, Memphis judge says
By Marc Perrusquia Source: Commercial Appeal July 20, 2014 It was still dark when the call came to 911 that chilly morning late last fall. The caller, a 38-year-old Bartlett woman, told a bizarre story: She’d gone to a man’s East Memphis home, had a...
Retired sex crimes detective says Memphis neglected rape cases
City officials have said many of the untested kits involve older cases from an era before investigators realized the potential of DNA testing. Yet Wilkerson’s testimony provides what might be a watershed moment in the controversy: He says the problem persisted well after DNA testing became standard practice.
Mixed Signals: Memphis offers GPS devices to victims
GPS monitors are usually associated with people suspected or convicted of a crime. Yet, Memphis offers the devices to victims of rape and domestic violence.
Combatting Sex Crimes Requires Changing How We Police
Law enforcement pursue drug crimes instead of rape because civil asset forfeiture incentivizes drug policing, not rape.
No Backlog: Why the Epidemic of Untested Rape Kits Is Not a Symbol of Insufficient Police Budgets But Instead a Failure to Investigate Rape
Untested rape kits show a widespread failure of US police to investigate rape.
What backlog?
Neglected Testing
Contrary to the popular narrative, untested rape kits are not the problem. They are just one symptom of larger problems with policing rape.
Neglected Data
Police departments have a strong incentive to manipulate crime data because lower crime rates make public officials look more successful.