Kentucky State Police's anti-drunk driving tweet made a joke about prison rape during Super Bowl

The Kentucky State Police (KSP) department on Sunday, 4 February tweeted an anti-drunk driving tweet that reportedly made fun of prison rape victims during the Super Bowl from its official account and then quickly deleted it.

"Enjoy watching Rob Gronkowski (TE) play but if you drink & drive ... your tight end may end up in jail!" the tweet said mentioning the New England Patriots tight end.

The tweet was also attached was a slow-motion gif of a bar of soap hitting the ground, which is a reference to inmates who drop a soap in the shower could be anally raped by other inmates when they bend down to get it back, Kentucky Courier-Journal newspaper reported.

The Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes on Sunday demanded an apology from the police.

Grimes also tweeted a link to the Courier Journal's story, writing that the state police needed to apologise to the victims of sexual assault.

"Rape & sexual assault are not joking matters," she tweeted. "Citizens expect & deserve better of law enforcement. An apology to victims everywhere from [Kentucky State Police] is needed."

The Kentucky police Twitter account, which has more than 50,000 followers, later posted an apology tweet saying "Making light on sexual assault is never acceptable."

Interestingly, in their letter to the commissioner of the Department of Corrections dated on September 2017, KSP Major Fred Williams said their agency is trained to investigate rape in their facilities, the newspaper reported.

"The Kentucky State Police investigates allegations of criminal sexual abuse when requested by Kentucky Department of Corrections facilities," the memo said. "All KSP troopers receive training in sexual abuse investigations during basic training at the State Police Academy... "

According to Bustle magazine, prison rape, however, is a real. It is a systemic problem and it is rarely treated with the same severity as rape that occurs elsewhere. The magazine reported that about 200,000 people while imprisoned in the US detention facilities in 2011 were sexually abused. The report also says that in 2012, more than 3% of all people in jail were sexually abused.