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Governor Palin has encountered a roadblock because her police department in Wasilla was allegedly charging for rape kits. Huffington Post wrote a story today accusing her of deliberately charging for the kits:
However, the article says that the previous mayor did not know whether the city charged for the kits or not, so it is reasonable to assume that even if the city charged people that Palin did not know.
Quote:
Mayor Stein told OffTheBus that he didn't "think victims were billed while [he] was mayor," but that he wasn't certain. He did mention that "Wasilla participated in establishing a Sexual Assault Response Team to set-up a one-stop forensic exam room for victims," evidence of a pro-victim police department. …
Former Police Chief Irl Stambaugh "had included a line item in the budget to pay for the cost of such exams." The 1999 Wasilla Annual Report is 117 pages long so it is easy to miss a line item if it was missing http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com...nualReport.pdf. Palin had been mayor for several years when the new Police Chief, Duwayne Charles Fannon, apparently did not add the line item and that is easy to miss in a 100+ page report. The Huffington Post says...
Quote:
it seems he [Fallon] began the "victim pays" policy in the 1998-1999 fiscal year. That year, he requested $3,000 but spent only $205.
However, a letter from the current Mayer indicates nobody was ever charged for a rape kit: "A review of files and case reports within the Wasilla Police Department has found no record of sexual assault victims billed for forensic exams."
A PDF of the letter can be found at the Wasilla town web site:
document: "Billing of sexual assault victims for forensic exams"
Maria Comella, a McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman, said Palin "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test." To suggest otherwise, she said, is a "misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
However, the article says that the previous mayor did not know whether the city charged for the kits or not, so it is reasonable to assume that even if the city charged people that Palin did not know.
Quote:
Mayor Stein told OffTheBus that he didn't "think victims were billed while [he] was mayor," but that he wasn't certain. He did mention that "Wasilla participated in establishing a Sexual Assault Response Team to set-up a one-stop forensic exam room for victims," evidence of a pro-victim police department. …
Former Police Chief Irl Stambaugh "had included a line item in the budget to pay for the cost of such exams." The 1999 Wasilla Annual Report is 117 pages long so it is easy to miss a line item if it was missing http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com...nualReport.pdf. Palin had been mayor for several years when the new Police Chief, Duwayne Charles Fannon, apparently did not add the line item and that is easy to miss in a 100+ page report. The Huffington Post says...
Quote:
it seems he [Fallon] began the "victim pays" policy in the 1998-1999 fiscal year. That year, he requested $3,000 but spent only $205.
However, a letter from the current Mayer indicates nobody was ever charged for a rape kit: "A review of files and case reports within the Wasilla Police Department has found no record of sexual assault victims billed for forensic exams."
A PDF of the letter can be found at the Wasilla town web site:
document: "Billing of sexual assault victims for forensic exams"
Maria Comella, a McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman, said Palin "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test." To suggest otherwise, she said, is a "misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
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