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Salt Lake City PD Rape Data to Go Online

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank put forward his "Code R Kit Project," which would post online information on 625 rape cases but would protect the identity of victims.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank ripped into City Councilman Kyle LaMalfa on Wednesday for impugning detectives who investigate rape allegations — and then he outlined a groundbreaking initiative that would make such inquiries transparent, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.

Burbank put forward his "Code R Kit Project," which would post online information on 625 rape cases but would protect the identity of victims. It would allow the public to see if forensic rape kits were forwarded to the state crime lab for processing, post the evidence from the rape-kit analysis, and note whether the case was then forwarded to prosecutors and whether charges were filed.

Burbank said, starting June 1, he will post the oldest cases first at slcpd.com and display information on all 625 cases for which the SLCPD has rape kits. Case numbers will be changed to protect complainants.

"This is unprecedented transparency so you can see how the cases are investigated," the chief said. "You will see the reasons why the evidence is processed or not."

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