East metro law enforcement authorities on Thursday unveiled initiatives aimed at reducing sexual assaults and improving how they deal with survivors.
They hope to build on efforts begun two years ago when Ramsey County launched its Start By Believing awareness campaign to make it easier for people to come forward to report sexual assault. Last year a study by the county attorney’s office found that only about 30 percent of sexual conduct cases investigated were forwarded to prosecutors for possible charges.
Speaking at the event at the St. Paul police training center, Sarah Super, a survivor of sexual assault, recounted her own experiences with the criminal justice system.
Super spoke about how an ex-boyfriend raped her at knifepoint inside her St. Paul apartment in 2015.
She detailed how she managed to escape to a neighbor’s apartment for help. She talked about reporting it to police, undergoing a sexual assault examination, watching her perpetrator get charged, and what it felt like to relay her story so many times — to police officers, investigators, prosecutors, neighbors, nurses and advocates as well as family and friends.
She remembers how each person made her feel, Super said, noting that their responses could be easily divided into two categories, those “hurtful” and those “healing.”
“There is no such thing as a neutral response to being raped,” Super said.
She added that the criminal justice system’s overall response to her case — her perpetrator was sentenced to 12 years in prison — “has done more for my healing than I can possibly describe.”
Super said she knows such an outcome continues to be the exception rather than the rule for sexual assault survivors. Still, she commended Ramsey County authorities for their efforts at rethinking how they handle these cases.
“I think Ramsey County is taking bolder steps, and I would encourage Minneapolis and Hennepin County to do the same,” she said.
NUMBERS TELL THE STORY
Perhaps the most telling sign that Ramsey County’s efforts are making a difference is the roughly 75 percent increase the county attorney office has seen since 2016 in the number of sexual assault cases law enforcement is presenting for possible charges.
It’s also impacted the number of people coming forward to report assaults, according to St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell.
Axtell’s department saw that statistic jump 24 percent between 2017 to 2018, climbing from 1,805 reports to 2,231.
“Some police chiefs may say that is a sign of failure, but I’m here to tell you that is a sign of success because our victims feel more empowered today to come forward than at any time in our history, ” Axtell said.
BROADENING EFFORTS
After launching its Start By Believing Campaign in 2016, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office conducted a two-year study to review ways the county’s criminal justice system was failing victims. That study found only about 11 percent of cases reported to law enforcement during the time period resulted in charges.
While Thursday’s event highlighted some of the progress, officials are promising to do more.
All St. Paul police investigators have been trained in trauma-informed interviewing, and the department entered into an agreement with Ramsey County’s Sexual Offense Services last summer to engage advocates into the process immediately.
That means an advocate is often reaching out to a person reporting sexual assault within 24 hours.
The advocate keeps victims apprised of the status of their case, helps them understand the criminal justice system, provides emotional support and helps connect them with services, such as therapy.
There’s been a 58 percent increase in the past two years in the number of individuals served by advocates, said PaHoua Vang, an advocate with SOS.
She and others say that work will prove critical to reducing the 26 percent dropout rate Ramsey County sees in the number of people who report a crime but eventually stop pursuing an outcome in their case.
“I have survivors who tell me, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be doing this,” Vang said.
Police also have noticed a change for the positive, said Roseville Deputy Chief Erika Schneider.
While detectives initially were hesitant about having an advocate present for interviews with those reporting sexual assaults, they quickly saw the benefit, Schneider said.
Jessica O’Hern, who serves as a sex crimes investigator for the Ramsey County sheriff’s office, said individuals “talk more” when an advocate for them is in the room.
Other changes that have taken place countywide include:
- St. Paul police hiring two more investigators to focus exclusively on sex crimes. The department also appointed a commander whose only job is to supervise the sex crimes unit.
- The Ramsey County SOS program hired two more advocates.
- Grant funding allowing the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to hire a full-time prosecutor to work on criminal sexual conduct cases for the next two years.
- Grant funding allowing the Ramsey County sheriff’s office to employ a full-time sex crimes investigator for two years.
- In cases involving probable cause, St. Paul police will try to get search warrants to obtain DNA samples from all suspects within 24 to 36 hours after reported assaults.
Future commitments made by law enforcement officials Thursday include:
- Patrol officers from agencies countywide receiving training on how to best respond to reports of sexual assault.
- Advocates being present at law enforcement interviews with victims countywide.
- Training all St. Paul police in the neurobiological response to trauma and forensic examinations.
- Assigning all sex crimes in Ramsey County to attorneys who specialize in criminal sexual assault cases.
MORE TO DO
While Ramsey County has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people reporting sexual assaults, it still hasn’t moved the needle on the percent of cases that end up being criminally charged or those that result in convictions, according to law enforcement.
That’s for a few reasons, according to Kaarin Long, who specializes in prosecuting sex crimes for Ramsey County.
These cases, which often involve a “he said-she said” dynamic, are hard to prove and involve a lot of investigation on the front end, including collecting DNA, reviewing a victim and suspect’s social media and phone records, and interviewing many potential witnesses.
There also are elements — such as the passage of time and the impact of alcohol use — on a victim’s memories.
A lack of resources also is a challenge, according to law enforcement officials.
Roseville has seen its criminal sexual conduct reports jump 40 percent since 2016 while caseloads for investigators keep climbing, according to Roseville Police Chief Rick Mathig.
But the department’s staffing levels haven’t changed in 10 years, Mathig said.
His department is asking the city to fund two more detectives by 2022 so it can devote more resources to sex crimes.
As continued investments are made and more time is allowed for the changes already in place to take root, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said he expects his office’s charging and conviction rates for sex crime cases will climb.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Choi said. “Change takes time.”