Thread by @megoconnor13

Today is #DenimDay, a day of solidarity with survivors of SA.

It's named for a court ruling that overturned a rape conviction bc the victim wore jeans.

Cops have co-opted the day, but the case shows why victims need non-police options after an assault.
theappeal.org/dont-let-cops-…

In 1992, an 18-year-old girl said her 45-year-old driving instructor raped her.

When the victim sought justice through the criminal legal system in Italy, where the case took place, the man was acquitted of almost all charges stemming from the assault. irishtimes.com/news/jeans-rap…

A prosecutor appealed the acquittal, and in 1998 the man was convicted and sentenced to two years and ten months in prison.

The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction the following year.

Judges said the girl wasn't raped bc she didn't "resist with all of her strength"

Seven years of recounting what happened to you only to end up with the nation’s highest court telling you you’re a liar and you were never raped doesn’t sound particularly healing. theappeal.org/dont-let-cops-…

Since police like to post photos of themselves wearing jeans "to support" SA survivors on this day, I'll be quote tweeting departments that do with their rape clearance rate (a measure of how many cases are closed through arrest or exceptional means, like the death of a suspect)

In 2020, 1068 rapes were reported to the Phoenix Police Department. 91 were cleared.

Meaning only 8.5 percent of rapes reported to PPD were closed by arrest or exceptional means in 2020. (One of the lowest clearance rates I've seen)

https://twitter.com/PhoenixPolice/status/1519134239123517441

In 2020 150 rapes were reported to the Thornton Police Department. 14 were cleared, making their clearance rate 9.3 percent (so over 90 percent of rapes reported to Thornton PD have basically no resolution for the victim)

https://twitter.com/ThorntonPolice/status/1519079586524540931

In 2020, victims reported 33 rapes to Cedar Park PD. Police cleared 7 of those cases. Their rape clearance rate is 21 percent.

(All data from the FBI, btw)

https://twitter.com/CedarParkPD/status/1519326571861004290

2020: 169 rapes reported to Orlando PD. 76 cleared. Clearance rate is 45%.

This is likely one of the higher ones we'll see all day, so you may think, 'oh they're not so bad.'

But should we really have a system where half of all victims get no resolution?

https://twitter.com/OrlandoPolice/status/1519326513811935232

In 2020, four people reported rapes to the University of Central Florida police. Police cleared one.

https://twitter.com/UCFPolice/status/1519321694976028673

Not a police department but, uhhhh

https://twitter.com/usarmysfl/status/1518985778285658118

2020: 104 rapes reported to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office. 36 cleared. Clearance rate is 35 percent

https://twitter.com/sbcountysheriff/status/1519343019224313858

242 rapes were reported to the Long Beach Police Department in 2020.

78 were cleared.

The clearance rate is 32 percent.

https://twitter.com/LBPOA/status/1519334239929438208

394 rapes were reported to the Orange County Sheriff's Office in 2020. 235 were cleared. Rape clearance rate is almost 60%. Which again, seems good in comparison to the others, but I would encourage you to imagine a system where all survivors get closure—

https://twitter.com/OrangeCoSheriff/status/1519291268941041664

and police often misuse the "cleared" label when reporting their crime stats to the FBI to make it look like they are solving more rapes than they actually are.

In reality, they are simply closing those cases with no resolution. Here's ProPublica on this: propublica.org/article/when-i…

lol phoenixnewtimes.com/news/scottsdal…

https://twitter.com/ScottsdalePD/status/1519089097460961281

Anyway Scottsdale's rape stats are still bad. 109 rapes reported in 2020, 23 cleared. Making their rape clearance rate 21 percent.

Phoenix is really going in on the Denim Day messaging, despite having one of the worst rape clearance rates in the country.

https://twitter.com/CityofPhoenixAZ/status/1518756802183192577

Oh boy, finally got an NYPD Denim Day tweet, where do I start

https://twitter.com/NYPD101Pct/status/1519366559591976960

2,253 rapes were reported to the NYPD in 2020. 379 were cleared, per FBI data. Making the NYPD's 2020 rape clearance rate 16.8 percent.

https://twitter.com/NYPD101Pct/status/1519366559591976960

Though a fictionalized version of the real NYPD's Special Victims Division has long popularized the notion that police are good and necessary at responding to sexual assault, the real NYPD SVU is a disaster: theappeal.org/nypd-special-v…

Looks like UT Austin Police don't report their clearance rates to the FBI?

https://twitter.com/UTAustinPolice/status/1519362555902316545

44 rapes were reported to the Garden Grove Police Department in 2020. 11 were cleared. Making the department's rape clearance rate 25 percent.

https://twitter.com/DiedreThuHa/status/1519351795876655104

1 out of 7 rapes reported to the San Pablo Police Department in 2019 were cleared (14 percent clearance rate). The Department didn't report clearance data to the FBI in 2020.

https://twitter.com/SanPabloPolice/status/1519346830194053120

In 2020, 1983 rapes were reported to the LAPD, per FBI data. 978 were cleared through arrest or exceptional means.

The LAPD's rape clearance rate is is 49 percent.

https://twitter.com/MayorOfLA/status/1519354904086786048

31 rapes were reported to the Davie Police Department in 2020. Police cleared 8. DPD's rape clearance rate is 25.8 percent

https://twitter.com/TownofDavie/status/1519054077983928321

1,010 rapes were reported to the Harris County Sheriff's Office in 2020. 187 were cleared.

The HCSO's rape clearance rate is 18.5 percent.

https://twitter.com/SheriffEd_HCSO/status/1519383121870925831

ASU police cleared 1 out of 10 rapes reported to them in 2020 (making their clearance rate 10 percent).

https://twitter.com/ASUPolice/status/1519373599265542145