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SATI e-News: January 2007 |
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In this issue:
Sexual Assault News
-
Duke Sexual Assault
Case Rests in the Hands of State's Attorney General
-
Survey Finds West
Point Has Highest Incidence of Sexual Misconduct Among Academies
-
Open Survey Assesses
the Practice of Polygraphing Sexual Assault Victims
-
EVAW International
Launches Sexual Assault On-Line Training Institute
-
Model Law Revisited
During National Stalking Awareness Month
Opinion
Technology
Legislative News
Forensic News
-
Felons' DNA Found to be Missing from
Virginia Database
-
FBI Permits Near-Match Searching of
DNA
Promising Practices: >From the Desk of the Training Director
** Best Practice or Buzzword? Sorting out Fact from Fiction in
the Community
Response to Violence Against Women
Upcoming Conferences/Training
Featured Resources
People on the Move
Funding Opportunities
Sexual Assault News
Duke Sexual Assault Case Rests in the Hands of State's Attorney
General North Carolina attorney general Roy Cooper agreed to
accept the prosecution of
the sexual assault case against three Duke lacrosse players for
sexually assaulting
a 28-year-old stripper in March 2006 after Durham County
District Attorney Michael
B. Nifong removed himself from the case. According to the
Washington Post, Cooper
promised a “careful and deliberate review” of the case and noted
that “anything
can happen,” even new charges, as his office reviews the
evidence with a fresh
set of eyes. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/duke_sexual_assault.htm>
Survey Finds West Point Has Highest Incidence of Sexual
Misconduct Among Academies West Point had the highest incidence
of sexual misconduct, with 10.5 percent
of the academy's 596 female cadets (63 women) reporting some
form of unwanted
sexual contact during the 2006 school year according to a survey
of military
academies conducted by the Pentagon Defense Manpower Data
Center. The assaults
included sodomy, fondling of genitalia and rape, according to
the Times Herald-Record.
Fifteen percent of West Point's 4,000 cadets are women. [read
more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/west_point_misconduct.htm>
Open Survey Assesses the Practice of Polygraphing Sexual Assault
Victims The sexual assault community is invited to participate
in a survey on the practice
and policy related to polygraphing of sexual assault victims.
This is being
done in response to new provisions in the Violence Against Women
Act of 2005
which prohibit recipients of STOP grants from asking or
requiring victims of
sexual offenses to submit to a polygraph exam as a condition of
proceeding with
an investigation. The deadline to participate is Friday,
February 5, 2007.
[read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/polygraphing_sexual_assault.htm>
EVAW International Launches Sexual Assault On-Line Training
Institute EVAW International has launched the On-Line Training
Institute (OLTI), a state-of-the-art
training tool intended for law enforcement and other
professionals involved in
the criminal justice and community response to sexual assault.
The OLTI promotes
a multi-disciplinary community response with particular emphasis
on sex crimes
committed by someone who is known to the victim (i.e.
non-strangers). Enrolling
in the OLTI is a simple process, and any professional interested
in finding out
more can enroll in an introductory module absolutely free of
charge. The introductory
module is entitled, “Effective Report Writing: Using the
Language of Non-Consensual
Sex,” and it is designed to help investigators conduct a
preliminary victim interview
and write a report that will support successful prosecution. To
find out more
about the On-Line Training Institute or to register for training
modules - including
the free, introductory module on Effective Report Writing, click
here <http://www.evawintl.org/evaw%5Fcourseware/default.aspx>.
Model Law Revisited During National Stalking Awareness Month
Organizations in more than 20 states conducted activities to
publicize this January
as the fourth annual National Stalking Awareness Month, with a
focus on raising
awareness of stalking and technology. In addition, the National
Center for Victims
of Crime (NCVC) released a report that calls on states to
evaluate the adequacy
of their stalking laws, including model legislation intended to
increase stalker
accountability and victim safety. The Model Stalking Code
Revisited: Responding
to the New Realities <http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/AGP.Net/Components/documentViewer/Download.aspxnz?DocumentID=41822>
examines and recommends a major update to the original model
stalking code, developed
in 1993 by the National Institute of Justice. For more resources
on stalking
including posters, brochures and state statutes visit the 'NCVCs
Stalking Resource
Center <http://www.ncvc.org/src/Main.aspx>.
Opinion
Duke-ing It out in the Court of Public Opinion
by Wendy Murphy, JD
For nine months, we've heard only from the defense in the
so-called “Duke Rape
Case” - but few people know that while the defense is talking up
a storm about
how the prosecutor has “nothing”, the defense has refused to
release a thousand
pages of the investigation. Reasonable people want to know what
they're hiding.
The prosecutor can't reveal evidence without risking sanctions
(such as dismissal
of charges) for tainting the jury pool. The defense is not
subject to similar
punishment, which is why they can and do speak more freely in
all high profile
cases. This double standard is why we should all be suspicious
about whether
we're getting the whole truth whenever a defense attorney claims
there's "no"
evidence. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/wendy_murphy_duke_opinion.htm>
Technology
3-D Imagery to Aid in Recovery of Missing Children
A new software program called AmberViewTM creates enhanced 3-D
digital images
from static facial scans to aid law enforcement in tracking down
missing children.
The 3-D image - along with biographical information on each
child - is stored
on a secure server. Once a child goes missing and the system is
activated, the
3-D image and other data on that child can be mass broadcast
within minutes through
a web-based system to law enforcement, media organizations and
other sources.
The program is being piloted in West Virginia in partnership
with the state's
schools before being rolled out nationally. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/amberview.htm>
Legislative News
Legislative Outlook Under the New Congress
The 110th Congress convened earlier this month with a change of
party control
in both the House and the Senate. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
and Congressman
John Conyers (D-MI) are the new chairs of the Senate and House
Judiciary committees,
which have jurisdiction over much of the legislation of interest
to the sexual
assault community. According to the National Center for Victims
of Crime, Democrats
in Congress have indicated they will turn their attention to a
juvenile justice
bill and a possible omnibus crime package. Stay tuned for
legislative updates
and action alerts. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/new_congress.htm>
Georgia Imposes Restrictive Residency Restrictions on Sex
Offenders Georgia is the most recent state to enact legislation
which sets limits on where
sex offenders can live. The roughly 10,000 sex offenders
residing in Georgia
have been forbidden to reside within 1,000 feet of a school,
playground, church
or school bus stop, according to the Washington Post. But
critics believe that
such laws simply drive offenders underground, making them more
difficult to track.
The constraints might also prompt offenders to move to other
states, simply
shifting the problem to another jurisdiction. According to the
Washington Post,
these are some of the reasons that police and prosecutors in
Iowa united in opposition
to such laws. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children also
expressed concern
that these laws give the public a false sense of security.
Source:
“Some Curbs on Sex Offenders Called Ineffective, Inhuman,”
Washington Post, November
22, 2006.
Forensic News
Felons' DNA Found to be Missing from Virginia Database
Authorities recently realized that the DNA of a significant
number of Virginia
felons was missing from the state's database, prompting a
massive review which
could take several months, according to the Washington Post. The
missing records
could number in the thousands, diminishing the effectiveness of
DNA in criminal
investigations nationwide. The problem in Virginia came to light
in December
of last year when an investigation into a series of
Charlottesville rapes revealed
that the records of suspects with criminal backgrounds were not
included in the
database. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/virginia_missing_dna.htm>
FBI Permits Near-Match Searching of DNA
The FBI has begun permitting police investigators to pursue some
criminal suspects
by tracking the DNA of close relatives who have been convicted
of other offenses,
according to USA Today. The first case of sharing such
information between states
involved an Oregon felon whose DNA profile showed that he is a
"likely" close
relative of a man who sexually assaulted a Denver woman in 2003.
[read more]
<http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/fbi_dna.htm>
Promising Practices:
From the Desk of the Training Director
Best Practice or Buzzword? Sorting out Fact from Fiction in the
Community Response
to Violence Against Women
By Joanne Archambault, SATI Training Director and Founder of
EVAW International
and Dr. Kim Lonsway, EVAW International Director of Research
So often we hear new buzzwords in our field, and we have to
wonder whether they
truly represent best practice - or if they are more myth than
reality when it
comes to improving the community response to the crimes of
domestic violence,
sexual assault, and stalking. In this Promising Practices
article, we will explore
some of these questions through different lenses. Specifically,
we will address
the issues of: (1) evidence-based prosecution; (2) blind and
third party reporting;
and (3) vertical advocacy. [read more] <http://www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2007/practices_01_07.htm>
************
Upcoming Conferences/Training
National Trainer Development Program on Violence Against Women
March 20-22, 2007 Philadelphia, PA Conducted by the
International Association of Chiefs of Police, this program
is intended for law enforcement trainers in the field of
violence against women.
It offers participants an opportunity to interact with the
nation's top trainers
on violence against women, explore the most effective methods
for training law
enforcement personnel, and obtain resources on the most current
and effective
investigative and crime response trends. Click here <http://www.theiacp.org/research/VAWTrainer.html>
for more information.
International GHB & Chemical Drug Conference - Note date change
Conducted by Project GHB March 23-25, 2007 Dallas, Texas Learn
more <http://www.projectghb.org/>
The Troubling Language of Rape: How Eroticism, Gender Myths and
Victim-Blaming
Affect Social and Legal Discourse
Conducted by the Judicial Language Project at the New England
School of Law March 24, 2007 (9:30 am - 5:30 pm) Boston, MA
Registration is free but space is limited - To register email
your name, affiliation,
the number attending and contact information to Stephanie
Sprague at SSprague@admin.nesl.edu
<javascript:parent.ComposeTo('SSprague%40admin.nesl.edu',%20'');>
or call 617-422-7434.
International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence
and Stalking Presented by EVAW International April 16-18, 2007
Houston, Texas
Join fellow law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, victim
advocates, judges,
parole and probation officers, rape crisis workers, medical
personnel, faith
community members, educators and others in this three-day
conference highlighting
promising practices and emerging issues in sexual assault,
domestic violence
and stalking. As always, it will be a full agenda with the most
up-to-date information
presented by some of the top experts in the country. Visit EVAW
International
<http://www.evawintl.org/> for a complete agenda, speaker
biographies and registration
information.
Sexual Assault Examiners Training
May 7-11, 2007
Norfolk, Virginia
Intended for nurses as well as law enforcement and advocates
Contact Diana Faugno at dialee@aol.com <mailto:dialee@aol.com>
for more information.
Featured Resources
Reference Manual on Violence Against Women
Violence Against Women, a recently released three-volume
reference manual, is
a landmark collection of the experiences, insights, and ideas of
leading professionals
who work with women victims of violence, and who prosecute the
perpetrators of
such violence. It is edited by Joan Zorza, Esq., editor of the
quarterly Sexual
Assault Report, both of which are published by Civic Research
Institute. The
manual is an essential reference for victim advocates,
attorneys, law enforcement,
counseling and health professionals, educators and students.
Click here <http://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/vi5.html>
for more information.
A Selection of Resources Geared to Prosecutors
The American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Center
for the Prosecution
of Violence Against Women offers a wealth of resources,
including:
Why the Abused Should Not Become the Accused
This article addresses the critical issue which domestic
violence prosecutors
frequently struggle with - that is, how to handle cases when the
victim recants
or is uncooperative. Frustrated, prosecutors sometimes resort to
arresting the
victim. This article takes an in-depth look at the
decision-making process and
offers creative case management and alternatives to arrest.
[view full article]
<http://www.ndaa-apri.org/publications/newsletters/the_voice_vol_1_no_8_2006.pdf>
Overcoming the Consent Defense
The consent defense is one of the most confounding challenges
for prosecutors.
This article offers a two-pronged approach to address
misconceptions of juries.
This strategy allows the prosecutor to rebut the myths and shows
jurors that
the defendant is guilty of rape regardless of whether the victim
fits their stereotype
of a “real” victim or the defendant fits their stereotype of a
“real” rapist.
[view full article <http://www.ndaa-apri.org/publications/newsletters/the_voice_vol_1_no_7_06.pdf>]
Prosecutors Toolkit
The Prosecutors Toolkit is a comprehensive list of resources
that are available
upon request from the National Center for the Prosecution of
Violence Against
Women. Among the topics are: the use of expert witnesses, voir
dire, court room
and testifying tips for SANEs, and sample pre-trial motions.
Click here <http://www.ndaa-apri.org/phpdocs/ta_response_packet_index.html>
to view the Prosecutors Toolkit.
People on the Move
Teresa P. Scalzo who for a number of years headed up the
American Prosecutor
Research Institute's National Center for the Prosecution of
Violence Against
Women (NCPVAW) has moved on to the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Office
of the Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia. Jennifer
Long, was named
her successor at NCPVAW. Long had been a senior attorney at the
NCPVAW for the
past two years, and prior to that she was an assistant district
attorney in Philadelphia.
The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs in
Washington state named
Betty Bailey Executive Director after an extensive nationwide
search.
Paul Ferrara, long-time Director of the Virginia Crime Lab,
retired at the end
of 2006. His successor has not yet been named.
Funding Opportunities
Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual
Assault and Stalking
on Campus Program (OVW-2007-1481). The U.S. Department of
Justice announces funds
to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving
domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault and stalking on campuses. The
Campus Program
also aims to strengthen security and investigative strategies to
prevent and
prosecute these crimes on campuses. Eligible applicants include
public and state
controlled institutions of higher education and private
institutions of higher
education. The deadline for applications is March 8, 2007.
Awards up to $300,000
are available. Click here <http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=12166&mode=VIEW>
for further information.
Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Domestic Violence,
Dating Violence,
Stalking and Sexual Assault (OVW-2007-1506). The U.S. Department
of Justice announces
funds to support programs that provide assistance to victims of
domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are in need of
transitional
housing, short-term housing assistance, and related support
services. The program
focuses on a holistic, victim-centered approach to provide
transitional housing
services that move individuals into permanent housing. Eligible
applicants include
city or township governments, county governments, state
governments, and nonprofit
organizations. The deadline for applications is February 22,
2007. Approximately
200 awards up to $350,000 are available. Click here <http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=12164&mode=VIEW>
for further information.
Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault,
Stalking and Child
Abuse Enforcement Assistance Program (OVW-2007-1499). The
primary purpose of
the Rural Program is to enhance the safety of victims of
domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, stalking and child victimization by
supporting projects
uniquely designed to address and prevent these crimes in rural
jurisdictions.
Special consideration is given to innovative solutions to
achieve this goal.
Eligible applicants include city or township governments, state
governments
and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for applications is
February 15, 2007.
Approximately 70 awards up to $900,000 are available. Click here
<http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=11944&mode=VIEW>
for further information.
Have a job opening, conference or an announcement of a personnel
change for SATI
e-news? Tell us about it at debbie_andrews@comcast.net <mailto:debbie_andrews@comcast.net>.
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