Transcript Jane Doe Reporting - Maryland Coalition Against Sexual

Violence Against
Women Act
Forensic Compliance Issues
VAWA Forensic Compliance
2005 Reauthorization
42 USCA S. 3796gg-4.b.3.D.d.1
“Nothing in this section shall be construed to
permit a State, Indian tribal government, or
territorial government to require a victim of
sexual assault to participate in the criminal
justice system or cooperate with law
enforcement in order to be provided with a
forensic medical exam, reimbursement for
charges incurred on account of such an exam,
or both.”
Why the Change?
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Up to 84% of all sexual assaults go
unreported – increasing reporting
increases victims’ access to health care
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Forensic evidence collection is timesensitive
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Acute emotional trauma inhibits the
trauma victim’s decision making capacity
Deadline
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January 5, 2009
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States must be able to certify, in good
faith, that they are in compliance with the
statutory eligibility requirements within
VAWA
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A breakdown in system could jeopardize
VAWA STOP funds
Models of Compliance
Evidence Collection Option
 Anonymous / “Jane Doe” Reporting
 Anonymous Mandatory Reporting
 Evidence Based Prosecution Option
 The Military Model: Restricted &
Unrestricted Reporting
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Evidence Collection Option
Guiding Principle
 Emphasis on healthcare and evidence collection, and
not on reporting to law enforcement
Characteristics
 Victims are offered a SAFE Exam regardless of their
decision to cooperate or participate with justice system
 From a law enforcement perspective, no crime has taken
place unless & until victim elects to report at a later date
 Hospital stores kit in some cases
Evidence Collection Option:
New York
Every hospital providing treatment to alleged victims of a sexual offense
shall be responsible for:
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1-a. maintaining sexual offense evidence and the Chain of Custody as
provided in subdivision two of this section.
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1-b. contacting a rape crisis or victim assistance organization, if any,
providing victim assistance to the geographic area served by that hospital
to establish the coordination of non-medical services to sexual offense
victims who request such coordination and services.
Source: New York State Public Health Law; Section 2805-i; “Treatment of sexual offense patients and
maintenance of evidence in a sexual offense, including Sections 2805-i (4-b) and 2805-i (5);
Establishment of hospital-based Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Programs”; And New York State
Public Health Law; Section 2805-p; “Emergency treatment of rape survivors” 2805-i. Treatment of sexual
offense victims and maintenance of evidence in a sexual offense.
Anonymous/ “Jane Doe”/
Blind Reporting
Guiding Principle
 Emphasizes keeping victim’s identity from law
enforcement
Characteristics
 Victims are offered a SAFE exam regardless of decision
to cooperate or participate with justice system
 From a law enforcement perspective, they are not
investigating until victim chooses to make a full report
 Law enforcement may document evidence through a
police report or an informational report
 Generally, law enforcement transports evidence to police
department for storage
 Also known as ‘Third Party Reporting’
Anonymous Reporting:
Oregon
SAFE Kits, where the identity of the victim is unknown,
will need to be assigned a case number and entered into
evidence. Methods such as Jane Doe reporting, citizen
contact, suspicious incident or sexual offense can be
utilized for generating a case number.
Source: Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force
Recommended Law Enforcement Policy
Anonymous Mandatory
Reporting
Guiding Principles
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Uniform reporting of sexual assault will allow the State to learn much
more regarding the prevalence of sexual assault.
Characteristics
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Victims are offered a SAFE exam regardless of their decision to
cooperate with law enforcement and/or participate with the criminal
justice system
From a law enforcement perspective, a crime has taken place,
which is generally documented through an alternative manner (such
as a supplemental report filed by a health care provider)
Generally, law enforcement transports evidence to police
department for storage
Anonymous Mandatory Reporting:
Massachusetts
“Every physician attending, treating, or examining a victim of rape
or sexual assault, or, whenever any such case is treated in a
hospital, sanatorium or other institution, the manager,
superintendent or other person in charge thereof, shall report such
case at once to the criminal history systems board and to the police
of the town where the rape or sexual assault occurred but shall not
include the victim’s name, address, or any other identifying
information. The report shall describe the general area where the
attack occurred. Whoever violates any provision of this section
shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more
than one hundred dollars.”
Source: M.G.L.C. 112§ 12½
Evidence Based
Prosecution Option
Guiding Principle
 Proper evidence collection may allow prosecutor
to proceed in prosecuting the case with physical
evidence only
Characteristics
 Similar to Pro-Prosecution model for Domestic
Violence
 At this time, this theoretical option is being
considered as a possibility in a few jurisdictions
Military: Restricted
Reporting
Guiding Principles
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Recognizes the significant deterrents to reporting within
the military
Emphasizes the availability of supportive services
Encourages more accurate data collection
Characteristics
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Similar to the civilian Anonymous Reporting options
Victim is afforded protection from Chain of Command
notifications
Victim may opt to change the report to “Unrestricted” in
the future
Promising Statutes &
Policies
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Evidence Collection:
 New York
Sexual Assault Examiner Program Fact Sheet:
http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ofpa/saefactsheet.htm
Sexual Assault Protocol for the Acute Care of the Adult Patient Reporting Sexual Assault
November 2004:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/professionals/protocols_and_guidelines/sexual_assault/docs/adult_p
rotocol.pdf
Anonymous Reporting:
 Oregon
HB 2154:
http://www.oregonsatf.org/documents/HB%202154%20A-engrossed.pdf
Mandatory Reporting:
 Massachusetts
Provider Sexual Crime Report:
http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/programs/fjj/provider_sexual_crime_report.pdf
Transportation Protocol:
http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/programs/law%20enf/2006_transport_letter.doc
http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/programs/law%20enf/2006_transport_protocol.doc
Common Barriers
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Conflicting Legislation
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Response Protocol
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Reimbursement Process
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Handling of Evidence (Tracking,
Transportation, and Storage)
Resolving Barriers:
State Level vs. Local Level
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Explore what efforts, if any, exist at the
state level to address compliance
issues
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Identify Barriers that are appropriate
for local multidisciplinary Response
Teams (SART, SARRT, or other) to
address
Conflicting Legislation
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Generally addressed on the state level
Common Issues
 Conflicts with mandatory reporting
 Statutes addressing exam payments
and/or reimbursements
Response Protocols
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Most likely a state response and a local
response
Common Issues
 Developing statewide protocols in
response to enabling legislation
 SART issue to discuss local response
Reimbursement/ Payment
Issues
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Generally addressed on the state level
Common Issues
 Statutory roadblocks
 Administrative roadblocks
Handling of Evidence
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May be a state and/or a local issue
Common Issues
 Once evidence is collected, where is it
stored?
 How is it transported?
 How is it tracked?
 Decide whether or not it will be processed
through FBI’s CODIS
National TA Project
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MCASA is a designated National Technical
Assistance provider by the USDOJ Office on
Violence Against Women
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MCASA is researching, designing and
disseminating a toolkit to aid States in becoming
compliant
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Phone: (410) 974-4507
Debra Bright, National TA Project Director
Email: [email protected]