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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:43 am
Time: 2:43 am
Results for sexual assaults (washington, dc)
1 results foundAuthor: Darehshori, Sara Title: Capitol Offense: Police Mishandling of Sexual Assault Cases in the District of Columbia Summary: Sexual assault is the most underreported serious crime in the United States. Victims fear authorities will not believe them and that reporting will only cause them more pain. This fear may be well-grounded. Police are often skeptical of victims and sometimes respond to reports of assaults in ways that are re-traumatizing. Based on extensive data analysis, documents from four government agencies, and more than 150 interviews, Capitol Offense examines the handling of sexual assault cases by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of the District of Columbia. The report provides strong evidence that between 2008 and September 2011 the MPD mishandled many complaints of sexual assault in D.C. In several cases, victims who reported sexual assaults to the police never had their case documented, or saw it languish when officers apparently determined without effective investigation that their claims were not credible. Human Rights Watch also documented inappropriate and harmful treatment of victims by MPD, such as questioning victims’ credibility; actively discouraging victims from reporting or providing forensic evidence; or asking victim-blaming questions. Not documenting or investigating reports of sexual assault denies justice to the victims, is a public safety issue, and misrepresents to the public the incidence of sexual assault in D.C. Victims who are not treated appropriately are less likely to cooperate with investigations, further reducing chances that perpetrators will be brought to justice. These problems do not appear to stem from official MPD policy, but rather from practices followed within the MPD that, during the period examined, were inconsistent with departmental policy and post-2008 reforms. Since learning of this report’s findings in May 2012, the MPD has adopted a number of our recommendations and made some policy changes. However, ensuring meaningful and sustained change requires more: it needs a commitment by leadership to change departmental practices, increase accountability and responsiveness, and extend external oversight of reforms to ensure transparency. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2013. 210p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2013 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0113ForUpload_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0113ForUpload_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127464 Keywords: Police BehaviorPolice InvestigationsRapeSex OffendersSex OffensesSexual Assaults (Washington, DC)Sexual Violence |