SFPD cleared only 14% of rape cases last year. We investigated why.

San Francisco is failing survivors of alleged sexual assault – and the numbers prove it. SFPD cleared just 14% of rape cases last year, which is half the national average and the lowest rate of any major county in California.  SF Standard investigative reporter Anya Schultz joins host Emily Dreyfuss to break down what she found after months of digging into how the city handles rape investigations. The picture is alarming: roughly 80% of alleged rape cases are currently sitting inactive; the Special Victims Unit has lost half its investigators since 2019; and police failed to publish legally required rape kit data until Schultz's reporting forced them to comply. Schultz also shares the story of one alleged victim – an engineer in her early 20s who supposedly did everything right. When her rape kit came back as a DNA match, she expected action. Instead, the investigator emailed to say the DNA "wasn't conclusive evidence a crime occurred.” This episode covers what's driving SF's dismal clearance rates, what survivors are experiencing when they report to SFPD, and what local city supervisors are doing in response. Content warning: This episode contains extensive discussion of sexual assault. For more information and episode transcripts, visit: ⁠https://sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time/⁠ Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a subscriber: ⁠⁠https://sfstandard.com/subscriber⁠