Acknowledgments

Sarah Tofte, researcher with the US Program at Human Rights Watch, researched and wrote this report. Within Human Rights Watch, David Fathi, director of the US Program; Nisha Varia, acting deputy director of the Women's Rights Division; Meghan Rhoad, researcher with the Women's Rights Division; Hava Manasse, associate director of the California Committee South; Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor with the Legal and Policy Division; and Ian Gorvin, senior program officer with the Program Division all edited this report. Abigail Marshak, associate with the US Program, edited and formatted the report. Brian Root, consultant to Human Rights Watch, contributed statistical analysis. Vicki Riskin, Shari Leinwand, and Mary Garvey, members of the California Committee South, also provided comments. Grace Choi, publications director, and Fitzroy Hepkins, mail manager, produced this report. For their support from Human Rights Watch's Los Angeles Office we also thank Hava Manasse, Tiffany Siart, director of the California Committee South, and Caitlin McAdam, office administrator.

Gail Abarbanel, director of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Charlie Beck, and Los Angeles Sheriff Forensic Services Captain David Walters provided outside review of the report.

Jessica Perata, Human Rights Watch pro bono counsel at DLA Piper, and Melissa Arellano, Human Rights Watch pro bono counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, helped Human Rights Watch obtain the data for the 47 police departments in Los Angeles County.

This report would not have been possible without the cooperation of the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff's Departments. Human Rights Watch is especially grateful to Deputy Police Chief Charlie Beck, Police Commissioner Anthony Pacheco, Police Special Counsel Gerry Chaleff, Sheriff Lee Baca, and Sheriff Forensic Services Captain David Walters.

We are especially grateful to the rape victims and their families who trusted us with their stories.

A special thanks to Gail Abarbanel, whose commitment to remedying the rape kit backlog got us to Los Angeles in the first place, and to the Human Rights Watch community in Los Angeles, whose commitment to the issue gave this project momentum.