What's Going On In Wasilla, AK

OK, have we all heard that back in 2000 the town of Wasilla, AK (where Sarah Palin is from in case anyone has been in a cone of silence) charged rape victims for the cost of their exams? The direct connection to Palin is suspect but that's not really what this is about either.

First, can you name any other crime where the victim is charged for cost of the investigation? I can't.

But get this from the McClatchy story:

A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.

"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper reported.

It also quoted Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon objecting to the law. Fannon was appointed to his position by Palin after her dismissal of the previous police chief. He said it would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year if the city had to foot the bill for rape exams.

Looking at information on Wasilla, it had a population of about 5500 back in 2000. Let's just assume half of those people are women. We'll ignore age for our purposes.

If the average rape kit costs $750 (avg of $300 and $1200) then the Wasilla Police Chief is saying there are between 7 and 18 rapes in the town per year. That's a rate of 254 to 654 per 100,000 women.

According to the FBI, the national average was 62.7 / 100,000 women country wide and "only" about 43.4 / 100,000 women in rural areas.