Legislature(2009 - 2010)Anch LIO Rm 220
08/03/2009 10:00 AM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Reducing Sexual Assault in Alaska | |
| Andre B. Rosay Ph.d., Director, Uaa Justice Center | |
| Tara Henry, Rn, Sane | |
| Anchorage Police Department | |
| Aleutian Pribilof Island Association | |
| Department of Public Safety | |
| Department of Law | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
ANCHORAGE, AK
August 3, 2009
10:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Hollis French, Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Gene Therriault
Senator Dennis Egan
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Davis
Senator Dyson
Representative Fairclough
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Reducing Sexual Assault in Alaska
HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
See 3/25/09 Senate Judiciary minutes.
WITNESS REGISTER
ANDRE B. ROSAY Ph.D., Director
Justice Center
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented UAA Research on Sexual Assault.
TARA HENRY, Forensic Nurse
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska from the perspective of a forensic
nurse.
SERGEANT KEN MCCOY
Anchorage Police Department
Municipality of Anchorage
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska from the APD perspective.
RICHARD KRAUSE, VPSO Coordinator
Aleutian Pribilof Island Association
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska from the VPSO perspective.
JOSEPH MASTERS, Commissioner
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska on behalf of DPS.
COLONEL AUDIE HOLLOWAY, Division Director
Alaska State Troopers
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska from the AST perspective.
KATIE TEPAS, Acting Director
Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and
Program Coordinator
Alaska State Troopers
Department of Public Safety
POSITION STATEMENT: Contributed to the discussion on reducing
sexual assault in Alaska.
RICK SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General
Criminal Division
Department of Law
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Described the DOL process in prosecutions
of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor.
SUSAN MCLEAN, Chief Assistant Attorney General
Criminal Division
Department of Law
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained DOL sexual abuse and sexual
assault case referral and acceptance data.
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:04:26 AM
CHAIR HOLLIS FRENCH called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. Senators Wielechowski,
Therriault, Egan, and French were present at the call to order.
Representative Fairclough, Senator Dyson and Senator Davis also
were in attendance.
^REDUCING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN ALASKA
CHAIR FRENCH stated that the committee meets today in the shadow
of two shocking sex assault cases that recently occurred in
Anchorage. One case involved an Anchorage police officer and the
other a potential serial rapist who is still at large. The
resulting attention provides an opportunity to bring an
awareness of this a long-standing Alaskan tragedy to the greater
public. He said it's worth pointing out that these cases aren't
really emblematic of what the professionals who work in this
area do on a day-to-day basis. He related that he prosecuted sex
assault cases when he worked in the Anchorage DA's office and he
found each one to be shocking. They occurred almost daily.
The impetus for the hearing today sprang from a presentation
that Andre Rosay Ph.D. gave to the committee in Juneau during
the last legislative session. The committee learned that during
2003 and 2004 some 1,184 cases of sex assault and sex abuse of a
minor were reported to the Alaska State Troopers. As those cases
worked through the system the attrition was substantial; the
result was 217 convicted sex offenders. The hearing today will
ask: what happened to the other 967 cases; did the troopers,
VPSOs, SART nurses, and DA's office have the tools they need;
and where is it best to allocate resources to bring more
offenders to justice.
Over the years the Legislature has put significant effort into
this issue. Sentences for all sex crimes have been substantially
increased, particularly for repeat sex offenders who no longer
get a reduction in their sentence while they are in prison. He
thanked Senator McGuire in particular who directed attention to
the containment model, which was developed in Colorado and uses
strict parole conditions including the use of polygraphs on
convicted sex offenders.
10:05:27 AM
^ANDRE B. ROSAY Ph.D., Director, UAA Justice Center
ANDRE B. ROSAY Ph.D., Director, Justice Center, University of
Alaska Anchorage (UAA), introduced himself and said he will
present some of the of research that has been done in Alaska and
show some key statistics to frame the discussions for the day.
The presentation will include an overview of the federal
statistics in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) as well as state
and local data that has been collected. He will present some key
results focusing on age, race, and alcohol use; he will talk
about key implications that have emerged from the research
that's been done in Alaska; and he will mention some of the
additional research needs that are important for the state.
MR. ROSAY thanked the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the University of
Alaska Anchorage for funding the research. He also thanked the
Alaska Department of Law, the Alaska State Troopers, the
Anchorage Police Department, and Alaska sexual assault nurse
examiners who participated in the research.
10:06:56 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a line chart of forcible rape statistics
from the 1996 to 2008 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). These are
offenses that are known to police. The statistics include only
forcible rape, which is defined as "the carnal knowledge of a
female forcibly and against her will." The rates of forcible
rape are shown for Alaska, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the U.S. in
general. Clearly, Alaska and Anchorage have had a long history
of being persistently above the U.S. average. The 2008 data is
just now available for Anchorage and the U.S. but 2008 data for
Alaska and Fairbanks is not yet available. He noted that when he
was before the committee last he mentioned a non-significant
trend where the U.S. rates tended to decline over time while the
Alaska and Anchorage rates are increasing slightly. The 2008
data shows that trend continues. In the U.S. there was a small
decline from 2007 and 2008 and in Anchorage there was a small
increase.
10:08:03 AM
CHAIR FRENCH clarified for the listening public that the Uniform
Crime Report data includes all offenses that are reported to
local and state enforcement agencies that are then passed along
to the FBI for tabulation.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the data is recorded manually
or electronically.
MR. ROSAY said he didn't know and although the UCRs are probably
the best data sources available, there are important
limitations. He would talk about that shortly.
10:09:08 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a chart of the 2003 to 2007 average rates of
forcible rape for the U.S., Alaska, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. It
shows that on average, from 2003 to 2007 the Alaska rate was
2.62 times higher than the U.S. rate; on average, the Anchorage
rate was 2.84 times higher than the U.S. rate; and on average,
the Fairbanks rate was 5 times higher than the U.S. rate.
Looking at the composition of the violent crime reports shows
that forcible rape is a more common form of violent crime in
Alaska than in the U.S. Violent crime includes murder, non-
negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery.
In the U.S. six percent of violent crime reported to law
enforcement is attributable to forcible rape; whereas in Alaska
12 percent of the violent crime that is reported to law
enforcement is attributable to forcible rape. However, looking
at violent crime arrests shows essentially no difference between
the U.S. and Alaska. For the U.S. and for Alaska four percent of
violent crime arrests are attributable to forcible rape.
Obviously, there is some attrition occurring and you'll see that
at the end of the presentation, Mr. Rosay said.
MR. ROSAY displayed a chart showing that on average from 2002 to
2007 the Alaska rate of forcible rape per 100,000 women was 169.
In order for Alaska not to have the highest rate in the nation,
the number of forcible rapes reported to law enforcement would
need to drop from 541 to 340. That would be equivalent to 201
fewer reported forcible rapes or a 36 percent decrease. He
described the difference between Alaska rates and the rest of
the U.S. as sizeable.
10:11:47 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide listing the standard UCR cautions as
follows:
· UCR statistics exclude: rapes not reported to law
enforcement; statutory rapes; incapacitated rapes; rapes
with male victims; other sex offenses such as sexual
assault or online enticement of minors; and rapes committed
in conjunction with more serious offenses such as a
homicide.
· Reporting agencies vary by year since this is a voluntary
reporting program.
· Rankings are generally believed to be invalid assessments
because they ignore variables that affect crime such as age
distribution. Comparing one state to another is generally
considered an invalid assessment because the age structure
in the two states may differ. It's known that there is a
direct relationship between age structure and crime rates.
10:12:39 AM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the conclusion is that a state with a
larger and younger female population would be more likely
statistically to have a higher instance of rape, and if he's
attempted to compensate for that.
MR. ROSAY replied that is the conclusion and it would be
difficult to compensate for that since the reporting agencies
vary so much from year to year. Clearly there is need for a
statewide surveillance system to collect date from every law
enforcement agency in the state. "Only then will we have a true
picture of the sexual problem that we have," he said.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if there are gaps in the reporting.
MR. ROSAY replied he doesn't have details but participation
varies by agency. For instance, the Juneau Police Department
initially did not participate.
10:14:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH explained that at the federal level
states can report crime manually or electronically and that
provides inconsistency in reporting. She added that she believes
that the troopers will speak to this.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked what specific geographic area is
included in the Fairbanks statistics. .
MR. ROSAY replied the Fairbanks numbers come from just the city
of Fairbanks and the Anchorage numbers come from just the city
of Anchorage.
10:15:11 AM
MR. ROSAY said they have no data for victimization surveys on
forcible rape or sexual assault for Alaska. Samples used
previously for victimization surveys were either too small or
did not have any questions about forcible rape or sexual
assault. They do have limited victimization surveys on domestic
violence showing that rates in Alaska are far higher than
elsewhere. Because true victimization rates are completely
unknown, the factors that affect reporting differences are not
known. He added that two factors are in play when looking at the
rates reported in the UCR; one is the underlying victimization
rate and the other is the reporting rate. So when Fairbanks has
higher numbers than Anchorage it may be that it has a higher
victimization rate or it may be that structures are available in
the city of Fairbanks that facilitate or make it more likely
that residents will report a forcible rape. At this time those
questions can't be answered.
SENATOR DYSON asked if data is kept on the percentage of victims
who know the perpetrator.
MR. ROSAY said he has the data but it isn't included in the
presentation today. The information is available on the Justice
Center website.
SENATOR DYSON asked for an estimate.
MR. ROSAY said AST shows that most suspects are known to the
victim; just two percent were strangers. Data from APD shows a
higher percentage of strangers. He recalled that it is higher
than the national average, which is 16 percent.
CHAIR FRENCH encouraged members who are interested in the topic
to look at the research reports that Dr. Rosay and the Justice
Center have done.
10:18:02 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide of the victimization costs and
stated that as a criminologist he is reluctant to try to
quantify the true costs of a forcible rape. However, there are
individuals willing to make those calculations and he will
summarize what they found. The four studies that were done
include only tangible and intangible victim costs. They do not
include any offender or justice costs. Tangible costs are ones
that are easy to measure like the cost of healthcare related to
an assault. Intangible costs are those that are more difficult
to measure like the loss of productivity as the result of an
assault. Adjusted for inflation, the average victim costs are
estimated to be about $114,517 per victimization. If those
estimates are compared to the number of forcible rapes that are
reported in Alaska, you find that total victim costs in 2007
were over $60 million for Alaska, $29 million for Anchorage, and
nearly $5 million for Fairbanks. If Alaska were to decrease
rates of forcible rape by 36 percent so as to not be highest in
the nation, it would result in a $22 million cost savings to
Alaska, nearly $11 million to Anchorage, and nearly $2 million
to Fairbanks.
MR. ROSAY said the state and local data that the Justice Center
looked at included four basic sets of studies. Those are the
Alaska Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Study, the Alaska
State Trooper studies, the Anchorage Police Department studies,
and the Alaska Department of Law studies. All the information is
available on the Justice Center website at
http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/vaw. He reminded members that all
the studies the Justice Center has done include only offenses
that were reported to law enforcement. We know absolutely
nothing about the offenses that were not reported to law
enforcement in Alaska, but we do know that nationally 52 percent
of sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement, Mr.
Rosay said.
10:20:51 AM
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to highlight the difference between the
information that is gathered from a victimization study versus
the information that comes from a reported rape; why the
information might be different, and the potential weakness of
the victimization studies.
MR. ROSAY explained that the primary advantage of a
victimization survey is that information might be obtained from
offenses that are not reported to law enforcement. It would also
allow identification of hidden populations that have high rates
of victimization that for some reason are unable to report.
CHAIR FRENCH said his understanding is that victimization
surveys are telephone surveys and would represent just a small
segment of the population.
MR. ROSAY agreed that just a sample of the Alaska population
would be polled in a sophisticated telephone survey. He added
that asking someone if they have been a victim of rape is not
likely to provide a valid estimate, but other types of questions
elicit more reliable and valid information. Those surveys are
done at a national level, but the samples in Alaska are too
small to be useful.
10:22:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said now that there is non-reporting,
people in Anchorage can disclose to the municipality's Health
and Human Service Department, which provides a new stream of
data. She noted that Anchorage has health powers where the rest
of the state does not, but the federal government now requires
retention of DNA samples from people who choose not to report.
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Rosay to confirm that the Justice Center
does conduct victimization surveys, but because the sample size
is very small it's difficult to extrapolate what the unreported
rape rates might be for the entire state.
MR. ROSAY said that is correct. He added that although anonymous
reporting is moving forward, the victim still has to report to a
health official and a lot of victims simply won't report to
either law enforcement or a health official.
CHAIR FRENCH commented that it is difficult for a lot of people
to understand why a victim of a crime would not tell someone,
but it happens with stunning regularity.
10:24:38 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if Representative Fairclough is saying
that even if a person chooses not to report there is a way that
the data gets into the system.
10:25:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH explained that the federal government
now requires cities that receive federal funding to provide a
way for a rape victim to self report so that they can receive
appropriate medical care without going to law enforcement.
MR. ROSAY continued with the presentation and said that in
addition to focusing only on offenses that are reported to law
enforcement, all the information that the Justice Center has was
obtained from official reports. In some ways we are documenting
the report characteristics, which may not be the offense
characteristics, he said. That is particularly true when victims
have used alcohol because many of the offense characteristics
may remain unknown and would not be found in a police report.
Also, the data collection is only up to 2006 because it's linked
to legal resolutions which take time to occur.
MR. ROSAY highlighted that certain difficulties arise when
interpreting the results because of an inability to separate
differences in victimization rates from differences in
reporting. For example, if rates are higher among 15 to 19 year
olds there are several possible reasons. This age group truly
could have higher victimization rates or it could be reporting
at a higher rate or both could be true. At this point we can't
figure that out, he said. Likewise, if 15 to 19 year olds are
found to be less likely to use alcohol it could simply be a
reporting difference because younger victims may be less likely
to report that they had used alcohol at the time of the assault.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if anyplace in the nation has been able to
integrate their data to the point that they have a statistically
valid picture of rape rates.
MR. ROSAY replied he's not aware of any place, but Alaska is
ready to move to the next level and get a true picture of what's
happening. Victimization surveys are possible as are
surveillance systems that he'll describe.
CHAIR FRENCH said when that idea is close to fruition the
committee would certainly like to see it in writing.
10:28:35 AM
MR. ROSAY conceded that from a policy and a research point of
view it's difficult and frustrating not to be able to separate
the victimization and reporting differences. On one hand if
there are higher victimization rates in Alaska, then a very
important segment of the population is not being protected. That
is ultimately a sign of failure. Alternatively, it's a sign of
success if reporting rates are actually higher in Alaska. It
means that a system is in place that makes people comfortable
with reporting. At this point we don't know which it is, he
said.
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide showing that the SANE study
collected 1,699 medical forensic records. 1,383 records were
collected from Anchorage in 1996 to 2004, 105 records were
collected from Bethel in 2005 to 2006, 144 records were
collected from Fairbanks in 2005 to 2006 and relatively smaller
numbers were collected from Homer, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, and
Soldotna in 2005.
The AST study examined 989 reports of sexual assault and sexual
abuse of a minor in 2003 and 2004. He displayed a state map
showing the geographic distribution of the cases broken out by
trooper detachment. 49 percent of the cases came from C
Detachment in Western Alaska, 16 percent from D Detachment, 11
percent from B Detachment, 11 percent from E Detachment, and 4
percent from A detachment. Obviously something is happening in C
Detachment, but the data does not show what that is. It could be
that victimization rates are higher or it could be that they are
reporting at a higher level.
MR. ROSAY said that the Justice Center has done three sets of
studies with the Anchorage Police Department beginning in 2000
and ending in 2005. In the Department of Law studies they
examined all cases reported to law enforcement and followed
those through the system. They were looking at which cases were
referred for prosecution, which cases were accepted for
prosecution, and which cases resulted in any type of conviction.
He emphasized that a caveat to the DOL studies is that the
conviction may not be for sexual assault; it may be a conviction
for a reduced charge.
10:31:11 AM
MR. ROSAY said the key results he will cover include victim and
suspect characteristics with respect to race, age, alcohol use
as well as the legal resolutions with respect to whether the
case was referred, accepted, or resulted in a conviction.
He displayed a pie chart looking at race of the victims and
suspects in AST and SANE studies. In the AST study over half of
the victims and suspects were Alaska Native. Similarly, in the
Fairbanks SANE study slightly over half of the victims and
suspects were Alaska Native. In the SANE study from rural
locations the majority of victims and suspects were Alaska
Native. It's slightly different in the Anchorage SANE study with
slightly over half of the victims and slightly over one quarter
of the suspects being Alaska Native.
MR. ROSAY displayed a bar graph of the rates of sexual assault
reported to APD by victim race for the years 2000 to 2003. It
demonstrates clearly that Alaska Natives have significantly
higher rates than other ethnic groups [20.1 per 1,000 for Alaska
Natives followed by 4.0 per 1,000 for Blacks]. Again, he said,
this could be a reporting difference, a victimization
difference, or it could be both. Looking at the race of suspects
in those same APD studies show that the highest rates are for
Black suspects [17.2 per 1,000] followed by Native suspects [9.9
per 1,000] and Hispanic suspects [6.2 per 1,000].
10:33:00 AM
MR. ROSAY said that in every study the Justice Center has done
over half the assaults are within the same racial group, which
contradicts some reports produced on sexual assaults in Alaska.
Intraracial assaults were particularly common among Native
suspects. [In the APD study 79 percent of Alaska Native suspects
assaulted an Alaska Native victim; in the SANE study 88 percent
of Alaska Native suspects assaulted an Alaska Native victim, and
in the AST studies 94 percent of Alaska Native suspects
assaulted an Alaska Native victim].
MR. ROSAY displayed a bar graph of the number of sexual assaults
reported to AST by victim age. 11 percent of the victims were 0
to 5 years of age; 25 percent of the victims were 6 to 12 years
of age; and 29 percent were 13 to 12 years of age. 65 percent of
victims are under 16 years of age.
10:34:21 AM
CHAIR FRENCH said the statistics are heartbreaking and the
committee is meeting today to try to figure out how to build
stronger cases to address this problem.
SENATOR DYSON said although it's not the subject of the meeting
today he doesn't want members to lose track of the fact that
approximately one-third of minors who are sexually assaulted are
boys.
CHAIR FRENCH agreed that it's the women and children of both
sexes in this state that are being victimized.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH drew on her past experience as
executive director of STAR and cautioned members not to minimize
the fact that although just a small number of adult males report
rape, it does not mean that a larger number of adult males
haven't experienced rape. Children don't have an opportunity not
to report so without a victimization or baseline study for
comparison it's not possible to say whether or not the number of
sexual assaults on children in Alaska is higher than the
national average.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked the national average of sexual assault of
children.
MR. ROSAY replied he doesn't know but the data is available.
SENATOR MCGUIRE commented that the meeting today is an
opportunity to find out how to improve data collection.
10:37:41 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide comparing the age of sexual assault
victims in AST and APD cases, which shows that the large
percentage of young sexual assault victims is somewhat unique to
AST data. Data from the Anchorage Police Department indicates
that over half the victims that report to APD are 21 years of
age or older.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if he has an explanation for the difference.
MR. ROSAY said not at this point.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH related that there are established
protocols at APD to send children to the Care Center and older
age groups to other centers. That could impact reporting if AST
doesn't have similar protocols when they do their counting.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if APD data is being compared to
statewide AST data or to Anchorage area AST data.
MR. ROSAY explained that the data includes any sexual assault
reported to AST and any sexual assault reported to APD. A
relatively small number of the assaults reported to APD may have
occurred outside the Municipality of Anchorage and the reports
to AST could come from anywhere within their jurisdiction.
Reports to other local or municipal law enforcement agencies are
not included in this data.
10:40:51 AM
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if it's possible to infer that AST data
is from the more rural areas.
MR. ROSAY replied that's generally true.
He clarified that even though the percentage of sexual assaults
reported to APD is relatively small for younger victims,
calculating the rates does give a slightly different picture.
10:41:41 AM
A bar graph looking at sexual assaults reported to AST by
suspect age shows that the most common age was 21 to 30 [236 or
25 percent] and the next most common age was 16 to 20 [210 or 22
percent]. The next slide comparing the age of suspects in AST
cases to the age of suspects in APD cases shows relatively
little difference. The real differences between the cases are
found in victim ages and not suspect ages. At least with AST
cases, the data implies that younger victims are being sexually
assaulted by older individuals. The five most common age
combinations in AST data are as follows:
1. Victims 0 to 12 years old who are assaulted by suspects
who are 31 years of age or older.
2. Victims 13 to 15 years old who are assaulted by suspects
who are 16 to 20 years old.
3. Victims 13 to 15 years old who are assaulted by suspects
who are 21 to 30 years old.
4. Victims 13 to 15 years old who are assaulted by suspects
who are 31 years of age or older.
5. Victims who are 31 years of age or older who are assaulted
by suspects who are also 31 years of age or older.
Together, these five combinations account for 48 percent of the
cases that the troopers see.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the data has been sorted to
know if any of the reports, particularly numbers 2 and 3,
involve consensual sex with parents reporting statutory rape.
MR. ROSAY replied they haven't done that data sort.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked why he is using the term suspect rather
than perpetrator.
MR. ROSAY replied law enforcement uses that term.
SENATOR DYSON said the person has not been adjudicated so the
term suspect is a more accurate term.
CHAIR FRENCH agreed that at this stage of the proceeding you can
authoritatively call the person a suspect.
10:44:29 AM
MR. ROSAY said that with APD data they are able to calculate
rates of victimization. Even though the number of reports for
younger victims was smaller in APD data, the rates of
victimization are much higher. He displayed a slide of four-year
rates of victimization per 1,000. It shows that the highest
rates are for individuals who are 15 to 19 years of age followed
by individuals who are 20 to 24 years of age. As with all the
previous results, it is not known if these are reporting
differences or victimization differences.
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide showing information from the Youth
Risk Behavior Survey and explained that the data comes from a
survey of public school students who had parental consent to
participate. Limitations of the survey are that it excludes
youths who have dropped out of school and students who are
enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) classes, special
education classes, correspondence schools, group home schools,
or correctional schools. That being said, nine percent of
students reported being physically forced to have intercourse
against their will. The national average is similar at eight
percent so perhaps it's a reporting difference, but it's not
known if that's the case or not. Responding to a question about
age, he explained that the data is collected from high school
students so their age is basically 18 and under.
10:46:40 AM
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide of alcohol use in the three sets of
studies. APD studies indicate that every year over 60 percent of
victims had used alcohol and over 70 percent of suspects had
used alcohol. The statistics are based on what was included in
the reports. Information that wasn't included was not captured
in these statistics.
In the Alaska SANE study they found that over 65 percent of
patients had used alcohol in every location but Homer and
Soldotna. At every site over 75 percent of suspects had used
alcohol.
In the AST study they found that 27 percent of sexual assault
victims had used alcohol. He reminded members that although the
number is lower, many of the victims were very young. They also
found that 43 percent of suspects had used alcohol.
MR. ROSAY displayed a slide looking at alcohol use by victim age
in cases reported to AST.
· In victims 0 to 5 years of age, none had used alcohol prior
to the assault.
· In victims 6 to 12 years of age, 3 percent had used alcohol
prior to the assault.
· In victims 13 to 17 years of age, 27 percent had used
alcohol prior to the assault.
A slide of alcohol use by suspect age shows that 34 percent of
suspects 21 to 30 years of age had used alcohol but younger
suspects were less likely to do so.
DR ROSAY displayed a slide showing alcohol use by patients who
were examined by sexual assault nurse examiners in Alaska and
noted that at some sites the sample size is relatively small.
· In Kotzebue 21 patients were examined and 100 percent had
used alcohol prior to the assault.
· In Bethel over 105 patients were examined and 71 percent
had used alcohol prior to the assault.
· Fairbanks 119 patients were examined and 71 percent had
used alcohol prior to the assault.
· In Anchorage 1,279 patients were examined and 66 percent
had used alcohol prior to the assault.
This study also examined whether or not the patients were passed
out as a result of alcohol use at the time of the assault.
· In Anchorage 23 percent of the 1,349 patients were passed
out at the time of the assault.
· In Bethel 46 percent of the 104 patients were passed out at
the time of the assault.
· in Fairbanks 31 percent of the 118 patients were passed out
at the time of the assaults.
10:49:06 AM
SENATOR DYSON asked if the term "incapacitated" refers only to
patients who had passed out as a result of alcohol use.
MR. ROSAY replied that is correct.
SENATOR EGAN asked why Juneau isn't included in the data.
MR. ROSAY said the data comes from the SANE Study and Juneau
didn't have a sexual assault nurse examiner at the time of the
study.
10:50:12 AM
MR. ROSAY explained that the Department of Law studies began
with all sexual assault cases that were reported to law
enforcement and then those cases were examined to see which were
referred for prosecution. Depending on the particular study,
they found that 18 to 46 percent of the cases were referred for
prosecution meaning that less than half the cases that are
reported to law enforcement will be referred for prosecution.
CHAIR FRENCH said part of the reason for this hearing is to talk
about that statistic, but the discussion will come later today
with law enforcement.
10:50:39 AM
MR. ROSAY said they found that 60 to 69 percent of the referred
cases are accepted for prosecution. Of the cases accepted for
prosecution, 78 to 87 percent result in a conviction. However,
if those percentages are calculated based on the number of
reported cases, the picture isn't as favorable. Again they found
that 18 to 46 percent of cases reported to law enforcement are
referred for prosecution, but then they found that 12 to 28
percent of the reported cases are accepted for prosecution. As
the cases move through the system they found that just 11 to 22
percent of reported cases will result in a conviction. In other
words, about 78 percent of the cases that are reported to law
enforcement will not result in a conviction. Again, he said, the
caveat is that this is any conviction on any charge.
10:51:49 AM
CHAIR FRENCH said he believes that DOL will say that years ago
they created a very strong policy favoring a sex conviction for
a sex crime. The years of sexual assault cases being reduced to
misdemeanor assaults are long past, but it still goes back to
the point that for 1,000 reported rapes some 800 to 900 cases do
not result in a conviction.
MR. ROSAY agreed and said the natural question is to ask what
factors affect the likelihood that cases will be referred for
prosecution, accepted for prosecution, and result in a
conviction. He highlighted that what does not affect those
likelihoods is geography. If cases from Bush Alaska are compared
to cases from non-Bush Alaska (off the road system), the cases
that are from off the road system are never less likely to be
referred, they are never less likely to be accepted, and they
are never less likely to be convicted than cases from on the
road system. Similarly, geography does not seem to affect
whether or not a case is founded.
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Rosay to take his time discussing this
slide because one of the more persistent myths in Alaska is that
people in some parts of the state are under-served, over-
victimized, and under-prosecuted when it comes to crimes of
sexual assault. He said that when he read the Justice Center
summer report from last year he was stunned to read how much the
evidence rebuts that charge. It speaks highly to the
professionalism of the troopers and the DOL prosecutors and it
says good things about the state. It is a myth that cases
against people in the Bush are treated less seriously than cases
in Anchorage.
10:53:57 AM
SENATOR DYSON said he'd also like to know it's not true that
victims who are Alaska Native women in Anchorage are treated
less fairly than non-Native victims. He suggested that
legislators and others in authority positions need to be doing
all they can to help that over-represented class of victim.
MR. ROSAY continued to review the slide looking at resolutions
by geography and said another way to look at geography is to
compare cases in areas that have a trooper post to cases from
areas that do not have a trooper post. In that breakdown they
found that cases from areas that do not have a trooper post are
never less likely to be founded, they are never less likely to
be referred, they are never less likely to be accepted, and they
are never less likely to result in a conviction than those cases
that come from locations that do have a trooper post.
10:55:30 AM
MR. ROSAY said that through all the studies the Justice Center
has done, they have come up with the following conclusions:
· Enhancing the presence of local paraprofessional police
does seem to make a difference. This includes VPSO, VPO,
and TPO. Some of the studies have shown that having a VPSO
on site reduces by 40 percent rates of serious injury
caused by assault. Their presence increases by 3.5 times
the likelihood that sexual assault cases will be accepted
for prosecution once they are referred.
CHAIR FRENCH asked what he means when he says enhancing local
presence.
MR. ROSAY replied they're talking about having any presence. He
reiterated that having a VPSO respond to an assault increases by
3.5 times the likelihood that the case will be accepted for
prosecution.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that it's not so much the absence of a
trooper as the absence of a first responder regardless of
whether it's a trooper or a VPSO. It's not that you have to have
a trooper, but you have to have somebody who will respond
immediately.
MR. ROSAY added that having a local presence reduces the rates
of injury and it dramatically increases the likelihood that
cases will be referred for prosecution. Once you increase the
likelihood that cases will be accepted, then that affect funnels
through the system and results in higher conviction rates.
MR. ROSAY continued to outline the conclusions that the Justice
Center has come to through the studies it has done:
· Strengthening local alcohol prohibitions appears to be
important. The rates of serious injury from assault are 36
percent lower in dry villages compared to other villages.
Cases where alcohol use is involved are far less likely to
be referred for prosecution, and far less likely to be
accepted for prosecution. Alcohol use complicates an
investigation because it's difficult to investigate
offenses when details of the offense are not available.
· Enhancing investigations is likely the most important thing
to increase referral. In these very difficult cases where
alcohol is involved, the solution is to enhance
investigation capacity. This is particularly important to
the largest hurdle in the process, which is the likelihood
of a case being referred for prosecution. The likelihood
of a case being referred for prosecution more than triples
when witnesses can be located and interviewed and when law
enforcement has the time and resources available to get
victim cooperation. This process takes time and having the
time to investigate and close cases will also increase the
likelihood that cases are accepted for prosecution.
· Promoting access to sexual assault nurse examiners is also
important. Medical-forensic exams more than double the
likelihood that cases will be accepted for prosecution. In
particular, the documentation of non-genital injury is
important. It dramatically increases the likelihood that
cases will be referred, that they will be accepted, and
that they will result in a conviction. Ultimately, sexual
assault nurse examiners offer the best standard of care
available and nothing less than that is acceptable.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH related that her experience is that in
some areas of Alaska, Dillingham for example, people are opposed
to having SANE nurses or the process on site. She doesn't know
why they feel that way and would be interested to know if the
committee could tease that out.
11:00:31 AM
MR. ROSAY said it's critically important to understand that
treatment can work. In Alaska the numbers on recidivism are
fairly good. He displayed a slide of a pie chart and explained
that they examined offenders that were released from the Alaska
Department of Correction in 2001 and tracked recidivism for
three years. He related that this was done by McKelve of the
Statistical Analysis Center.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if these are all offenders released from DOC,
not just people with sex offenses.
MR. ROSAY said that's correct.
SENATOR MCGUIRE said she understands the point, but she is very
concerned about having this slide appear within the context of
the hearing because there hasn't been progress with recidivism
when it comes to sexual offenses. "The Containment Project and
others have been methods of dealing with it and I get very
concerned about these kinds of slides. … We had a hearing last
year that brought this data into that hearing and made it
confusing. So I just think that if there is a way possible, the
slide here ought to be recidivism with respect to those sexual
offenses and we might even want to ferret it out by age," she
stated.
11:02:07 AM
MR. ROSAY agreed that could be done. He explained that the slide
is looking at any rearrest on any charge for the offenders that
were released in 2001. The bad news is that 40 percent were
rearrested and reconvicted. Another 21 percent were rearrested
but not reconvicted and 39 percent were not rearrested. The good
news is that if you look at recidivism between sex offenses and
non-sex offenses, there was no difference between the offenders.
The important point is that sex offenders were not more likely
to be rearrested or to be reconvicted on a sex offense. But the
reason this is problematic is that it's known that sex offenses
are less likely to be reported. Again, he said, teasing out
those effects is going to be difficult.
11:03:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH pointed out that as people get older
they are less likely to reoffend. However, as they go through
treatment they learn about how they got caught so they become
smarter more devious criminals should they elect to reoffend.
She added that she doesn't mean to rain on this data, but
multiple things make this interesting.
11:03:47 AM
CHAIR FRENCH said that's the beauty and terror of the polygraph
examination. When convicted sex offenders are submitted to a
polygraph a lot of the hiding and denial goes away. He noted
that polygraphs were the focus of a previous hearing. For the
public's information, those interviews are not used for further
prosecution, but they are valuable in finding out when
individuals start straying from probation conditions and
engaging in risky behaviors. For the offenders that are caught
and prosecuted and put on probation we're doing a fairly good
job, but the focus of the hearing today is in the field where
the crimes are being committed.
MR. ROSAY displayed a line graph and explained that they
examined juvenile sex offenders that were released from the
Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice in FY05 to FY07. They used
group-based models to identify common histories of delinquent
behavior. Essentially there was a high delinquency group and a
low delinquency group and they found that by age 17 individuals
in both groups showed dramatic declines in offending. He said
it's important to understand that these rates are calculated
controlling for periods of detention and institutionalization.
MR. ROSAY said he would conclude by highlighting research needs
in the state.
· First and foremost a statewide victimization survey is
extremely important in order to obtain reliable and valid
victimization estimates. This is the only way to evaluate
whether Alaska has high victimization rates, high reporting
rates, or both. It's the only way to identify the factors
that hinder reporting and it's ultimately the only way to
evaluate the criminal justice and other responses.
· A statewide surveillance system would be extremely useful
because it would allow tracking sexual assaults from report
to conviction. It would provide real time information so
that when there is a change in age of victims or numbers of
sexual assaults that are occurring in a particular
jurisdiction the information could be analyzed quickly and
perhaps tentative answers could be provided to better
understand what may be happening with sexual assaults in
the state.
11:07:07 AM
CHAIR FRENCH said on that point he'll be posing the question to
both the troopers and APD representatives because it seems that
it's between the local police agencies and the troopers that
there is a lack of data integration.
MR. ROSAY said he'll let the troopers answer that question, but
an important point is that this would be a statewide system
where every law enforcement agency in the state would
participate. That's unlike the Uniform Crime Reports, which do
not capture information from all law enforcement agencies. In
fact, they don't capture the majority of the sexual assaults
that are occurring in Alaska because they are focusing on
forcible rape.
CHAIR FRENCH said he sees a bill idea cloud appearing before the
group that's here today.
11:08:03 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE agreed and asked if he's aware of other states
that have their own surveillance systems that integrate data and
dovetail into the larger CODIS system.
MR. ROSAY replied at this point the largest system exists
through CODIS. He isn't aware of other states doing this but
suspects that smaller states that have every law enforcement
agency participating in the Uniform Crime Reports could have a
statewide picture of forcible rape. Sexual assaults would not be
included. Alaska does have the opportunity to lead the effort to
create a system that would give a statewide picture of what's
happening with sexual assaults, he added.
11:09:44 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE suggested that the Council of State Governments
Justice Center might be interested in partnering and providing
resources. They track this sort of data and are interested in
this sort of landmark opportunity. She offered to help make this
connection if he is willing and interested.
MR. ROSAY replied he would appreciate the help.
In conclusion Mr. Rosay reiterated that additional research is
important to differentiate between high victimization and high
reporting. High victimization ultimately implies failure and
high reporting ultimately implies success. At this point there
is no information as to whether Alaska is succeeding or failing.
CHAIR FRENCH thanked Mr. Rosay for his presentation and
recognized Tara Henry. He disclosed that he and Ms. Henry have
worked together over the years and he thinks highly of her.
11:12:42 AM
^TARA HENRY, RN, SANE
TARA HENRY, Forensic Nurse, said she helped start the first
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program in Anchorage and
supervised it for six years. Since leaving the program in 2003
she has focused on helping to start and maintain SANE programs
statewide. In the last couple of years much of her work has been
to work in this field on a national level through the
International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN). For the
last 10 years she has been the forensic nurse who works at the
State Medical Examiner Office on rape/homicide cases.
MS. HENRY explained that forensic nursing is a specific science
where the science of nursing is applied to sexual assault and
domestic violence legal issues. This unique body of knowledge
isn't found in any other area of nursing because it combines the
bio, psycho, social, and spiritual education of the registered
nurse with forensic and criminal justice sciences. Essentially,
forensic nurses work with the living and deceased, trauma, or
criminal activity to be able to provide care for their patients.
A forensic nurse examiner has multiple specialty areas, but the
most prominent is within the interpersonal violence area. They
work with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child
abuse, elder abuse, violence and torture. A sexual assault nurse
examiner (SANE) is a subspecialty of forensic nursing that was
developed in Memphis Tennessee in 1976. Not much was heard about
this nursing specialty until the 1990s when California
implemented a more multidisciplinary approach for sexual assault
response teams. At that point SANEs began working closely with
advocacy and law enforcement agencies to respond to sexual
assaults. Prior to that, these specialized nurses weren't
working as compatibly with other team members.
11:16:17 AM
The goal of a sexual assault nurse examiner "is to provide a
professional nursing care that assesses, evaluates, diagnoses,
and implements care to restore and promote the biological,
psychological, and social health of the victim throughout the
medical forensic evaluation process." A forensic nurse's primary
focus is on the health and wellbeing of the patient while
collecting forensic samples.
National data shows that when a SANE program has been
implemented in a community, the medical care for sexual assault
patients has been improved. Their injuries are taken care of
better, they receive better prevention for sexually transmitted
infections, and pregnancy prevention is improved. Also, the
nursing documentation of the physical findings has been improved
so that the medical evidence can be used when cases are
investigated and brought to trial. Forensic nurses who are
specialized in doing sexual assault cases know the importance of
their medical information in the criminal justice outcome. Over
the years they have found that mental health outcomes are better
when sexual assault victims have access to care by SANEs. These
patients are less likely to have a post traumatic stress
disorder from the sexual assault. Not only is the physical
injury care better, the mental care also is better.
They also have improved forensic evidence collection which means
that there is more DNA being found. Several studies have
compared evidence collection kits from crime labs that have
forensic nurses collecting the kits versus non-forensic nurses
and evidence collected [by the forensic nurses] is always
superior. Nationwide it's shown that prosecution rates at least
double when a sexual assault nurse examiner does the
examination. Not only do sexual assault nurse examiners improve
care, they also have training and experience in providing expert
witness testimony in the criminal justice process to help the
jury understand what the findings mean. Oftentimes there is a
question about the meaning of a bruise, a genital finding or
lack of genital finding, an emotional response or lack of
emotional response. The forensic nurse has the ability to help
the prosecutor educate the jury.
11:20:57 AM
MS. HENRY said a new 12-year study by Dr. Rebecca Campbell found
that there is an indirect affect on the criminal justice process
when SANEs meet the patient's medical and psychological needs.
Responding to a question, she clarified that the study was done
in a single Lower-48 state. When SANEs helped victims to heal,
that indirectly affected the victims' willingness to participate
in the criminal justice system and go forward with legal
prosecution. The study said that the SANEs' attention to the
emotional and physical wellbeing decreased the PTSD and gave
that survivor the psychological ability to continue with the
criminal justice system. It's exciting to know that not only
does the forensic sample colleting improve prosecutions but it's
also forensic nursing care that's having an effect.
CHAIR FRENCH said this is essentially producing a stronger
victim.
MS. HENRY agreed adding that SANEs are playing a vital role in
Alaska and nationally in responding to sexual assaults. Not only
are there improved medical, psychological, and legal outcomes,
forensic nursing is also focused on sexual assault prevention.
Forensic nurses do a lot of public health intervention and
prevention working with the International Association of
Forensic Nurses and the Center for Disease Control. She added
that she is looking at primary prevention from a healthcare
perspective. In Alaska forensic nurses have done prevention work
with schools and other healthcare providers to stop sexual
assaults before they happen or to minimize the trauma once they
occur.
11:24:06 AM
MS. HENRY relayed that in Alaska the first SANE program was
started in Homer in 1994. Since that time 15 communities started
programs, but three have closed and three never became fully
functional. Four other programs haven't taken the step to close,
but they no longer have SANEs. One program that currently has
three SANEs will lose two by September so it's probably on the
verge of closing. The four SANE programs that are fully
functioning are located in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna, and
Kenai. Soldotna and Kenai are coordinated by the same individual
so it's really one program in two different communities.
11:26:09 AM
Responding to a question about whether or not there is a SANE
program in Juneau, she explained that the Kodiak, Sitka, and
Palmer programs have closed. Although they did training in
Barrow in about 2005 and Juneau in 2007 neither program has
gotten off the ground.
11:27:17 AM
CHAIR FRENCH asked what factors produce a community that will
support a SANE program versus one that isn't.
MS. HENRY said she'll talk about that soon.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if a SANE program has nurses that have
taken specific training and operate under a certain protocol and
if they quit their other nursing duties or add to their existing
duties.
MS. HENRY explained that SANE programs come about with hospital
support. They hire nurses that work as sexual assault nurse
examiners, put protocols in place, dedicating a room for the
examinations, and providing ongoing maintenance.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said Anchorage would not have an
active SART (sexual assault response training) program if it
were not for Tara Henry. I want to thank you publicly, she said.
11:29:55 AM
MS. HENRY continued to explain that programs in Juneau and
Barrow haven't gotten off the ground and Ketchikan has a quasi-
program that isn't fully functioning. The four programs that no
longer have SANEs include Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, and Eastern
Aleutian Tribes. In September the SANE program in Dillingham
will lose two of their three SANE nurses.
11:32:01 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if any consideration has been given to
using traveling nurses for SANE programs. She then asked if SANE
programs have funding issues or nurse recruitment issues or
both.
11:33:01 AM
MS. HENRY said she'll address the second question in a few
minutes. With respect to the first question, she explained that
the idea of traveling nurse examiners has been discussed but
certain things have to put in place first. Paperwork has to be
standardized so that documentation is the same in all areas and
the SANE programs all have to operate under the same
programmatic protocols. The next step is to work with the
different hospitals to put contracts in place and ensure that
the nurses have housing. Telemedicine has been successfully
implemented in some SANE programs in the Lower-48 and that's
another consideration for Alaska.
11:35:28 AM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if a SANE nurse is dedicated to only look at
sexual assault victims.
MS. HENRY replied the SANE job is an extra duty in all but three
of the programs so SANE nurses basically have two fulltime jobs.
Kenai has one fulltime forensic nurse, Anchorage has two, and
Fairbanks currently has three. Fairbanks used to have their SANE
program operate out of the ER with on call forensic nurses. But
then the hospital stepped up its commitment and made a forensic
nursing services department. These forensic nurses are now
seeing adult, adolescent and pediatric sexual assaults and are
formally assessing injuries and risks of domestic violence (DV)
victims who haven't been sexually assaulted. Before the program
was implemented 144 patients were seen in 2005 and 2006. So far
this year 305 victims of sexual assault and domestic violence
have been seen and that number will likely rise to 600 by year
end. The only real difference is that the Fairbanks hospital
made a formal forensic nursing program and put money into it.
11:38:17 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if part of the SANE training is devoted to
responding to the needs of children to lessen their trauma. She
also asked who responds to and examines a child if there is no
SANE program in the community.
MS. HENRY replied it depends on the program and whether the
nurse has training in pediatrics. Some SANE nurses, like the one
in Homer, see all age ranges. Nurses in the Anchorage program
see adolescents 16 years and older. Children under age 16 go to
the child advocacy center, Alaska CARES (Child Abuse Response &
Evaluation Services). In Bethel it depends on which forensic
nurse is there. One nurse was trained in pediatrics and adult so
she saw all sexual assault cases. When she left the remaining
SANE was only trained in adolescent and adult so the pediatric
cases are seen by local physicians or sent to Anchorage. When
there is no SANE nurse in the program, the victim may be flown
to Anchorage or Fairbanks. In some cases the victim may be given
a basic medical exam by the local ER physician or nurse who has
not had training will do an evidence collection by reading the
instructions on the kit.
11:41:13 AM
SENATOR MCGUIRE stressed the importance of understanding how
stories are told to the community. Being put on a plane and sent
to a large unfamiliar community for an examination can be
frightening and being examined by someone who isn't trained can
result in a sense of re-victimization. These experiences and the
stories from others could be a deterrent for people to report.
SENATOR DYSON said Senator McGuire covered his point, which is
the genius of the approach that Alaska's child advocacy centers
take. It certainly can be applied to adults to try to minimize
trauma, he added.
11:43:30 AM
MS. HENRY said the primary challenge is to sustain existing SANE
programs. While Alaska has some unique problems, sustainability
isn't unique to Alaska. Staffing is an issue because it's
difficult to find nurses that are interested in this specific
type of work. Sexual assault victims and nurses are primarily
female and a lot of nurses have their own victimization issues
that may prevent them from doing this work. Also, most of the
positions are on call so the nurse has to be within 30 to 45
minutes response time to the hospital in case a sexual assault
is reported. Some hospitals pay $2 to $4 [per hour] for being on
call while others pay nothing so you're basically volunteering
to do the second job. For example, if you are working fulltime
in the ER at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and taking calls for
the SANE program, the hospital has to pay everything on overtime
when you get called in. It's expensive for the hospital to pay
the nurses to do this work, but the reality is that the nurses
don't get much pay so there is little monetary incentive.
Also, a substantial amount of work goes into the upkeep of the
standards of care. Someone can't simply go to training and then
go back and do the work. There are competency skills to
maintain, ongoing training throughout the year, quality
assurance and peer reviews, initial and follow-up exams, and
court time. Nurses aren't always paid for the time they spend
doing these things. If you are in a program that sees five to
ten cases a year it's difficult to maintain competencies without
traveling someplace to get the additional experience, which is
difficult.
Another challenge is the high burnout rate for SANE nurses.
While physician and nurse colleagues are generally very
supportive, there is little interest in doing this work. If, for
example, there is just one SANE nurse in Bethel who is trying to
work their fulltime job and also the sexual assault cases they
will eventually move on because they can't do it any longer.
Financially it's difficult to sustain a SANE program because
hospitals lose money on them. While law enforcement pays for the
forensic exam, all the medical costs including medication and
lab testing is borne by the hospital. Patients and insurance
companies are not billed.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if that is done for the obvious reason of not
putting any financial penalty on the victim, for privacy
reasons, or a combination of the two.
11:50:24 AM
MS. HENRY replied it's a combination, but unreimbursed costs
make it difficult to sustain these programs. For example, the
cost to run the Fairbanks program for one year is a little more
than $250,000 and the only reimbursement they receive is for the
forensic portion of the exams. Anchorage is fortunate because it
gets grant funding directly to the program, but a lot of
communities aren't able to get that funding. Lots of funding
goes to advocacy and law enforcement for sexual assault but
there hasn't been a direct funding stream to the medical
community to maintain these programs for sexual assault.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if she has considered making SANE nurses
state employees under law enforcement.
MS. HENRY said some Lower-48 states have looked at that.
Massachusetts, for example, has a line item in their state
budget for sexual assault nurse examiner programs. A nurse
manages the training and it works very well. She added that
because SANE nurses work in the medical arena, it isn't the best
practice for them to work through a law enforcement agency.
Already they face claims that the police bring the patients to
the nurses and they do what the police want. When SANE nurses go
to court that sort of claim could be a real distraction if the
nurses actually were working under a law enforcement agency.
11:54:47 AM
CHAIR FRENCH commented that he sees another idea bubble.
SENATOR MCGUIRE said this is clearly a public health matter and
it's clear that the current approach isn't working so we ought
to consider the state employee concept. Having a trained nursing
workforce that could respond either through telemedicine or by
going into the field is a good idea.
MS. HENRY said she would be happy to have further conversations
about that.
CHAIR FRENCH added that it's a great concept.
MS. HENRY said the workload and finances are the two main
challenges associated with sustaining SANE programs in Alaska
and nationally. Thus far there aren't a lot of solutions but on
a national level they are looking at the grant funding that the
National Sexual Violence Resource Center received from the
National Institute of Justice. A consultant group of 12 SANEs
have been working on the SANE Sustainability Project looking at
programs throughout the U.S. that are on the verge of collapse.
The consultants look at the difficulties the program is having
and then provide feedback and tools that will help to sustain
the program.
On a national level the programs have similar problems, but
because of differing state dynamics the challenges are specific
to a program. For example, what is happening in Bethel that
makes a program difficult to sustain may not be the same as in
Anchorage or Kotzebue. Sometimes the issue is administrative,
sometimes it's staffing at the hospital, and sometimes it's
entirely different so the SANE Sustainability Project goes to
the different communities to do assessments. Research will come
from that to give guidance as to what programs can do on a
national level. We're always open to suggestions about working
with communities in the state to find solutions, she said.
11:58:41 AM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if SANE nurses are mandated to report to law
enforcement if someone self presents.
MS. HENRY said SANE nurses are healthcare providers so they have
to follow the statutorily mandated reporting rules. As
Representative Fairclough mentioned, Anchorage has implemented
anonymous reporting so a victim who doesn't want to go to law
enforcement can go to the Anchorage SANE Program or Forensic
Nursing Services at Providence. The nurse will do an anonymous
medical evaluation and forensic sample collection kit. Under a
Jane Doe they will give that kit to law enforcement to hold and
secure in case the victim later decides to come forward and make
a report to law enforcement. An investigation could then go
forward.
CHAIR FRENCH asked what gets the nurse off the hook since they
are commanded by state law to make a report.
MS. HENRY replied this option is only available to victims over
age 18. Sexual assault is not in and of itself a mandatory
report unless it's of a child or vulnerable adult. If the sexual
assault involves guns, knives, or the wounds the victim sustains
are likely to cause death, reporting is mandatory.
12:01:06 PM
CHAIR FRENCH recapped that an adult female who presents herself
to the hospital alleging she was raped can ask for and receive
an anonymous medical examination and forensic kit collection and
the incident will not be reported to the police unless she
decides to do so.
MS. HENRY said that's correct; the victim signs a release
allowing the nurse to provide her information to law
enforcement.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if the victim could ask that all the
information about the sexual assault except her name be reported
to law enforcement.
MS. HENRY explained that they follow HIPAA and if it's not a
mandatory report they would not provide just some information to
law enforcement. She deferred to Lieutenant Booker or the
troopers to articulate the law enforcement perspective.
12:02:37 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE suggested the committee consider mandatory
reporting of the data that is characteristic of the incident
while redacting personal information.
CHAIR FRENCH said you're looking for a way to gather the data
without exposing the victim to a process that she doesn't want
to be exposed to.
MS. HENRY said anonymous reporting statewide is still a work in
progress. Thus far Anchorage, Kenai, and Fairbanks are the only
programs that have been seeing anonymous cases. That information
is being collected to get an idea of how many anonymous cases
are coming in.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if she knows the number of rapes that
result in pregnancy.
MS. HENRY replied she doesn't have the data in her head but she
could get that.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he'd be interested.
12:05:13 PM
CHAIR FRENCH thanked Ms. Henry for her presentation and recessed
the meeting until 1:30 pm.
1:38:02 PM
CHAIR FRENCH reconvened the meeting and announced that this
afternoon is devoted to the law enforcement perspective.
^Anchorage Police Department
SERGEANT KEN MCCOY, Anchorage Police Department, Municipality of
Anchorage, thanked the committee for giving him the opportunity
to give a frontline perspective of what law enforcement
investigators are faced with in trying to reduce sexual
assaults. He related that he has been a police officer for 15
years and served as a detective in the special victims unit for
four years. As the lead investigator he investigated over 220
sexual assaults. Now he supervises that unit, which consists of
seven detectives and an administrative clerk.
SERGEANT MCCOY explained that the Anchorage special victims unit
is part of a multidisciplinary sexual assault team that is
comprised of Anchorage police, forensic nurses, and advocates
from Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). Their model for
addressing sexual assault is very progressive and they believe
that the process lessens the impact on victims who come forward
to report a sexual assault. They primarily investigate cases
involving victims who are 16 years and older.
1:40:38 PM
SERGEANT MCCOY said that as of June 30, 2009 he has reviewed 394
sex crime cases. That is 142 more cases than were seen at the
same time last year and their resources are taxed. He doesn't
know why there has been such a large increase, but alcohol plays
a very active role in the cases they investigate. Most studies
show that alcohol is a factor in 50 percent to 60 percent of
cases, but as an investigator he believes it's more like 80
percent to 90 percent of the case.
SERGEANT MCCOY said this summer there has been an increase in
cases involving chronic inebriation in the homeless community.
He related that on the way to this meeting he heard a dispatch
of a sexual assault in progress in a local Anchorage park. This
summer these calls are increasingly common and frequently
involve the homeless population and extreme intoxication. The
victims are unconscious while someone has sex with them in
public. The acts are witnessed and reported by citizens driving
and walking by. Cases of people socializing and consuming
alcohol to the point that they black out are also on the rise.
The inebriated person does not recall what occurred but later
reports that they were sexually assaulted. Although victims know
their assailant in more than 60 percent of the cases, a number
of recent investigations have involved a stranger who committed
the assault.
SERGEANT MCCOY said a major challenge is the lack of
investigators relative to the increased case load. "We are
currently looking at about 140 additional cases right now. That
number of cases I could easily distribute amongst two to three
additional detectives to handle that type of caseload," he said.
When investigating sexual assaults it takes three investigators
to accurately and completely investigate the victim, the
physical location of the crime, and the suspect. With current
staffing they often can only dispatch two detectives with the
additional responsibility falling on patrol officers even though
the case would be best suited for full detective resources.
1:46:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if there is an increase in the
homeless population in Anchorage and what the percentage might
be.
SERGEANT MCCOY said he doesn't have any numbers but they have
seen an increase in calls for service to that community,
particularly in the area of sexual assault.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if there is an effort to get
those numbers and if the migration from rural Alaska is
affecting the homeless population.
SERGEANT MCCOY said he doesn't have an answer.
CHAIR FRENCH said this morning the committee learned a lot about
case attrition and although he doesn't recall the numbers for
APD, he's interested in knowing what happens in the screening
process at the investigator level and then at the Department of
Law that determine whether a case will go forward or not. How do
you train a detective to know when a case is strong enough to go
forward to the DA, when it needs more evidence, and when it
should be shelved?
SERGEANT MCCOY replied most of their cases rely on DNA evidence
so collecting that evidence is a primary goal. What they're
seeing is that laboratory resources are insufficient. Last week
he received results from a case that is seven years old.
CHAIR FRENCH said that had to be an unusual circumstance.
SERGEANT MCCOY responded this is more and more the case. The
evidence from that case was collected in 2002. Last October he
was notified that the state crime lab had over 100 victim sexual
assault kits that had not been processed. Some dated back to
2004. Investigators can't move forward without the test results
from those evidence collection kits that were taken at the time
of the sexual assault.
1:50:20 PM
CHAIR FRENCH expressed doubt that most DNA samples languish for
years in the crime lab. Referencing the sexual assault in the
park today, he asked Sergeant McCoy what he expects the
processing time to be for that DNA sample.
SERGEANT MCCOY said an expedited time would be perhaps six
months. He added that they are yet to get results on a priority
case from February and he doesn't see things getting much
better. Recently they learned that DNA evidence now has to be
screened by a DNA committee before it's tested. His
understanding is that the committee sends to the Department of
Law (DOL) a list of cases that are in the screening process and
awaiting trial. DOL tells the committee which cases are priority
and they get processed. To APD investigators this means that if
they send evidence to the lab in a case where someone hasn't
been charged it won't be on the DA's priority list.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that it's not on the DA's priority because
that office doesn't know about the case.
1:52:39 PM
SERGEANT MCCOY agreed, but the result is that the case doesn't
get processed so he believes that this new process will create
further backlog.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked how the three strikes law has
affected APD's working relationship with the DA's office in
prioritizing cases for DNA testing.
SERGEANT MCCOY replied it's had a direct impact; more defendants
are fighting their cases because the increased penalties mean
substantially more jail time. Investigators are going to court
more often and they need all the DNA resources available to
present a strong case. The stakes are very high. I applaud
greater penalties but we need more resources to withstand these
court battles, he added.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH commented that DNA is a blessing to an
airtight case and increasingly jurors are reluctant to cast a
guilty verdict without it.
SERGEANT MCCOY agreed and cited an example where a suspect was
on videotape touching a woman's genitals, but was not convicted
because the victim's clothing had not been tested for DNA
1:56:40 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if he'd like to see DNA evidence handled
differently, perhaps like he's seen it handled in different
jurisdictions.
SERGEANT MCCOY replied a lot of jurisdictions have started using
private laboratories. When APD has done that they've gotten the
results in a timely manner, which allowed them to move forward
quickly with the investigation. "When we do get the results from
our state crime lab, the results are great and the work product
is great. It's just getting it done to where we can use it."
Responding to a question, he said the private labs are not in
Alaska.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that if the case goes to trial there would
be an added expense associated with bringing a certified DNA
laboratory technician to Alaska to testify in front of the jury.
SERGEANT MCCOY agreed and restated that DNA and the backlog of
cases are significant challenges.
CHAIR FRENCH assured him those points are on his list.
1:58:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the Municipality of Anchorage
contributes monetarily to the state crime lab.
SERGEANT MCCOY replied he doesn't believe so, but he isn't
certain.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH suggested that MOA might consider
funding a position at the state crime lab in an effort to help
move municipal cases forward.
SERGEANT MCCOY recalled that at one time there was a DNA analyst
who was dedicated to processing sexual assault evidence for APD.
He doesn't know the source of the funding for that position.
2:00:11 PM
SERGEANT MCCOY addressed a question about reduction strategies
and summarized that many of the sexual assault crimes are
occurring in social settings between people who know each other.
These scenarios don't lend themselves to police intervention and
prevention has proved to be difficult. That leaves education.
When he was growing up he was taught to fight, yell, scream, and
run to get help if someone was doing something that made him
uncomfortable. As an investigator he's seen that a high level of
resistance reduces the likelihood of a sexual assault being
carried out. In cases where the assault still occurs
investigators are left with evidence to support a good criminal
case.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked why the special victims unit doesn't see
more kids.
2:03:24 PM
SERGEANT MCCOY explained that APD has two dedicated specialized
units to investigate sex crimes. His seven-detective unit
investigates all sexual assaults involving victims age 16 and
above. The other unit also has seven specialized detectives, but
they investigate sex crimes involving children age 15 and
younger.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if someone from that unit is present
today.
SERGEANT MCCOY answered no.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if he is prepared to answer questions
about that unit and if not she'd like a follow-up report on the
trends they are seeing.
SERGEANT MCCOY said he has some numbers that may translate, but
he isn't prepared to speak on behalf of that unit.
SENATOR MCGUIRE expressed an interest in getting the
information.
SERGEANT MCCOY said they are seeing some of the same trends for
juveniles age 15 and younger. In most cases the assailant is
known to the victim and most of the time it occurs within the
family unit. Alcohol is often a factor on the part of the
perpetrator, not the juvenile. The Crimes Against Children unit
has seen an increase in sexual assault and child abuse. As of
June 30, 558 cases had been screened compared to 534 cases
during the same time last year.
2:06:16 PM
CHAIR FRENCH observed that the number of adult cases nearly
doubled while juvenile cases increased by 24.
SERGEANT MCCOY said it's difficult to say why that is, but his
unit has seen steady increases over the last three years. Other
crime categories have decreased or maintained their level.
CHAIR FRENCH said they learned this morning that the reason
could be better reporting, which is a benefit, or it could be
greater victimization, which is not. The fact is that we don't
know which it is, he said.
SERGEANT MCCOY said Anchorage provides a very good service to
victims of sexual assault and people may feel more comfortable
reporting, but it's hard to say. That could account for the
increase, it could be other factors, or it could be a
combination.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that Sergeant McCoy's number one wish would
be faster DNA processing and asked what, other than more people
to do investigations, his number two wish would be.
SERGEANT MCCOY replied a strong education component is needed
because the people that present as repeat victims oftentimes
were victimized as children. The cycle continues and as adults
they are falling victim to perpetrators in the community.
CHAIR FRENCH asked what sort of follow-up services are provided
to victims of sexual assault. Who sees the victim two weeks or
even a year after the trial?
2:09:10 PM
SERGEANT MCCOY replied they are fortunate to have a good working
relationship with STAR. They are an invaluable resource and
provide continuing counseling and support to victims. Sometimes
these cases take years to get to trial and if it weren't for
STAR it would be difficult to keep the victims on track and to
hold the cases together for the long haul through court, he
said.
2:09:57 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if APD is conducting victim surveys and
collecting data from the victim's perspective. She also asked if
they collect data on the assailant and if that information is
passed along to UAA.
SERGEANT MCCOY replied they collect that data and routinely
provide it to Mr. Rosay.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH added that it's dependent on whether
the state or some other agency is willing to invest money to
collect the data to get the baseline that Mr. Rosay has asked
for.
CHAIR FRENCH thanked Sergeant McCoy for his presentation and for
taking time to meet with the committee.
CHAIR FRENCH recognized Mr. Krause as the next presenter and
said he can tell how VPSOs in one part of the state respond to
the continuing sexual assault crisis.
2:12:32 PM
^Aleutian Pribilof Island Association
RICHARD KRAUSE, VPSO Coordinator, Aleutian Pribilof Island
Association (APIA), introduced himself and said he has worked as
coordinator since 1989. He related that VPSOs are located in
Atka, Atkutan, Nelson Lagoon, False Pass, and St. George. He
hopes to establish a VPSO in Cold Bay, but housing is an issue.
He'd also like to put a VPSO on the Aleutian Chain in the small
village of Nikolski. The village has not requested a VPSO so he
can't move forward, but from his perspective there is a need. He
cited an example of an ongoing family situation on St. George
Island. There is alcohol abuse by minors, threatened suicide,
allegations of rape that are recanted and then confirmed by
siblings, and no safe house in the community.
2:19:20 PM
CHAIR FRENCH summarized that there's a pattern of abuse in a
remote area, but it's difficult to build a prosecution based on
recantation, alcohol abuse, and non cooperation.
MR. KRAUSE said it's a never-ending cycle. Logistics are an
issue - oftentimes because of weather - but response to this
type of situation is just too slow.
2:20:35 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked what sort of training APIA provides new VPSOs
in responding to sex assault and sex abuse of a minor.
MR. KRAUSE replied their annual regional training addresses
domestic violence more than sexual abuse of minors. It's up to
the troopers to do those investigations. The same is true for
sexual abuse of adults but VPSOs often end up doing those
investigations. "Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't."
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the VPSOs all have cameras to gather
photographic evidence.
MR. KRAUSE said yes.
CHAIR FRENCH asked how many reports of sex assault come out of
the area each year.
MR. KRAUSE estimated there are 18 to 20 or 1.5 per month.
CHAIR FRENCH asked what two or three things he'd put on a wish
list to make prosecution of these cases more successful.
MR. KRAUSE said his first wish is to see more Office of
Children's Services (OCS) workers.
2:22:21 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked where the OCS workers that cover the
Aleutian/Pribilof region are based.
MR. KRAUSE replied Atka, Nikolski, Unalaska, St. George, and St.
Paul are served by an OCS worker who lives in Unalaska. Nelson
Lagoon, False Pass, Sand Point, and King Salmon are served by an
OCS worker from King Salmon.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that OCS responses pertain to allegations of
crimes against children and asked where the system fails adult
victims.
MR. KRAUSE replied more timely responses by everyone and more
troopers would be helpful as well. Now troopers work with VPSOs
and have other jobs as well and he believes that it would be
more effective if particular troopers worked with certain
villages and certain VPSOs and that was the extent of their job.
He added that more frequent trips to the villages would be
helpful because right now people think someone is going to be
arrested when a trooper shows up.
2:25:05 PM
CHAIR FRENCH said this year the committee learned that for the
first time in many years all trooper positions have been filled.
He asked if he's been able to detect any difference in the
Aleutian region.
MR. KRAUSE said yes; within the last year a trooper from
Detachment C in Anchorage has been charged with taking care of
all the villages on the Aleutian Chain. It's made a huge
difference.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that this is exactly what you were hoping
for so there is a glimmer of hope.
MR. KRAUSE agreed and added that he hopes that eventually things
get better for everyone.
CHAIR FRENCH said thank you for the work you do and for taking
time out of your busy schedule.
2:26:55 PM
CHAIR FRENCH recognized that the committee next will hear from
Commissioner Masters.
^Department of Public Safety
JOE MASTERS, COMMISSIONER, Department of Public Safety (DPS),
outlined the basic themes of his remarks.
· Sex crimes and domestic violence are a high priority for
DPS. Response to these crimes is second only to homicide,
extremely violent acts, and calls for emergency response.
· Response to sexual assault and domestic violence is an
extensive problem in the state that requires an
extraordinary amount of resources.
· Dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault has to be
a collaborative effort that takes in the Department of
Public Safety, law enforcement and other entities.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said education has to be part of the
response because prevention is more effective than continually
throwing people in jail. All stakeholders have to make a
concerted effort and conscious decision to no longer accept
domestic violence and sexual assault in our communities or our
homes. To this end, DPS is focusing on partnering with
communities. He noted that Colonel Holloway and Ms. TePas will
discuss this further, particularly with what is being done with
stimulus funds.
2:32:24 PM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said DPS wants to provide the best response
possible but doesn't know what is most effective. Right now the
information is anecdotal and indicates that victimization rates
are extremely high and potentially more so in rural Alaska. A
2003-2004 study provides just a snapshot, but we need studies to
get baseline data that tells what is working, what isn't working
and the scope of the problem so that our resources can be
effectively allocated. Those baseline studies are on our wish
list, he said.
The studies that Mr. Rosay spoke to portrayed trooper response
in rural Alaska in a fairly positive light. He noted that AST
proactively requested those studies and worked collaboratively
with the Department of Law and the Justice Center in an effort
to get good information. Although the studies showed
comparatively good arrest and prosecution rates for sexual
assault, the rates are still double the rates in the next
closest state. What that says is there's a lot more going on
that we need to figure out. My view is that it's a public health
and a social problem, he said. He further stated that the work
that's been done to get funding for these studies - federal
funding in particular - places the Council on Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) in a very good role to help DPS move
forward in dealing with this social problem.
2:36:34 PM
COLONEL AUDIE HOLLOWAY, Division Director, Alaska State
Troopers, Department of Public Safety, said he will show
statistics for sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor. He
reminded members that the numbers that Mr. Rosay provided come
from Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and they may be different than
state trooper numbers. The definitions are different and so they
count cases differently.
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to explain why some cases are counted by
the FBI's Uniform Crime Report and not by the state troopers and
vice versa.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY explained that the trooper definition of sexual
assault is based on state law and is much broader than the 1930s
era definition that UCR uses. Alaska statutes are broader and
count assaults on minors and on males. The UCR definition only
counts an assault if it's by a male on a female. It isn't
counted as a rape unless there is genital to genital contact.
"So there is a whole host of sexual assaults in our statutes
that cover illegal acts that are not covered in UCR."
Understanding that is important because the UCR numbers don't
appear that large, but they only comprise a small fraction of
the sexual assaults that occur. None of the sexual abuse of a
minor cases are counted. Keep that in mind, he said.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY provided the following AST data on sexual
assaults:
· In 2007 359 cases resulted in 514 offenses with 65 offenses
unfounded.
· In 2008 284 cases resulted in 347 offenses with 43 offenses
unfounded.
There is no explanation for what caused the significant drop in
cases from 2007 to 2008. It could be underreporting or it could
be that AST is doing a good job. Clearly there is need for
further study.
2:40:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked him to define "unfounded"
because people could interpret it as a false report. Second, she
asked how the state has chosen to report to UCR because manual
reporting only captures the highest category crime and not
subcategories. For example, if someone is killed it is reported
to UCR as a homicide because the highest crime is reported. If
the victim was also kidnapped and raped you'd never know because
those are un-captured subcategories of the reporting. She asked
if that's changed.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY explained that "unfounded" means that the
circumstances weren't there to prove any type of case.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH clarified for the record that
"unfounded" is federally defined in UCR and does not mean that
the claim is false. It means that there is insufficient evidence
to prove that the incident occurred.
2:42:21 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY said Alaska is a summary reporting state for
UCR. He read the following:
It basically means we report a summarized view of an
occurrence rather than a detailed one. To give an
example: If we had a home invasion in which a family
member was murdered and another one had been shot and
another one had been raped, our report would only list
one homicide. The other elements of the crime spree
would not be included as we would only count the crime
with the highest severity. The other elements would
simply not appear as reportable offenses because
summary reporting does not collect the totality of the
incident.
He explained how UCR counts rapes as follows:
UCR counts the number of victims and not the number of
assaults. If a woman in gang-raped by three assailants
in a parking lot, the UCR data would only count one
rape because we only have one victim. Albeit assuming
the assailants are apprehended, we would have three
arrests and each defendant would be charged with
multiple counts of rape. The agency's UCR data on the
incident would only list one offense of rape.
Clearly, he said, there are a lot of differences between UCR and
state of Alaska reports of sexual assault, but Alaska still
doesn't have a comprehensive collection of the sexual assault
offenses
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH added that there is an option to
report at a higher level, but she understands that Alaska has
chosen to summary report.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY agreed. The National Incident Based Reporting
System (NIBRS) might not fit all state laws, but it would be
more comprehensive than what the state is doing now with just
UCR. Right now there is a state law requiring police agencies to
report UCR data to DPS, but there is nothing that makes them do
it.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH referenced a list of non-contributing
municipal agencies and explained that those are jurisdictions
that have chosen not to provide data to the state. It sounds as
though there is no recourse when that information isn't
provided, she said.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY said that's his understanding and it leads to
an incomplete data gathering system. If you don't understand
what the problem is it's difficult to come up with a plan to
solve it. We're asking for a way to get a comprehensive
understanding of the problem and the scope so we can come up
with a plan, he said.
CHAIR FRENCH remarked that it makes sense.
2:46:38 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY highlighted the following AST data on sexual
abuse of a minor:
· In 2007 353 cases resulted in 565 offenses with 77 offenses
unfounded.
· In 2008 253 cases resulted in 394 offenses with 36 offenses
unfounded.
Again, he said, we don't know why there were 100 fewer cases in
2008 than 2007. It could be poor reporting, no reporting, or AST
is doing a better job.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY outlined some of the things that AST would like to
do better:
· More follow-up with victims. Triage with the victim is pretty
good but follow-up interviews and safety checks could improve.
It takes time to accomplish forensic exams and that should be
communicated to the victim, the families and the perpetrators.
CHAIR FRENCH recapped the frustration Sergeant McCoy expressed
and asked Colonel Holloway his experience on the timeliness of
processing DNA samples.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY said it's getting better in some ways like
getting grant money to work on the backlog of cases. For awhile
they could only do exams on known suspect cases and that might
be part of Sergeant McCoy's frustration. If you didn't know the
suspect or the case didn't have a high solvability rate, those
cases went into a long queue. Also, the state crime lab is
bursting at the seams and even if there is funding for another
position there might not be physical space available.
Nonetheless the lab is examining at a faster rate than in the
past because of new technology and better DNA science.
CHAIR FRENCH commented that it's off topic but he would hope
that someone from the crime lab or DPS rethinks the strategy for
the crime lab renovations. There have been several attempts at a
$100 million crime lab and so far it's not coming. We need some
creative though to solve this problem to come up with a much
more palatable sum of money. Someday we'll get a great new crime
lab but right now we're not serving our law enforcement
community appropriately. We need to go back to the drawing board
and figure out a better way.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if all the DNA samples that are
collected are entered into CODIS.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY said he would defer to Commissioner Masters,
but he believes they enter as much as they can. He noted that
when they recently addressed the backlog, one of the first
entries was a CODIS hit.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said he can't say whether or not every DNA
sample has been entered into CODIS, but he believes that most
are entered. He added that all of backlog CODIS samples that
were mentioned in testimony last session have been entered into
the system. "So we're completely caught up to date on all of our
CODIS issues. As a matter of fact, that's what allowed us to be
able to queue in … a lot of these no suspect rape kits that
we've been starting to test."
2:54:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if there is a cost to submit to
the national system.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS replied he doesn't believe so, but the
testing is very expensive.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if DNA is being collected now
because she understands that there have been civil rights issues
associated with requiring felons to submit DNA samples. She
referenced lie detector testing of incarcerated sex offenders
and noted that these felons typically have not disclosed all
their victims and DNA samples from this population that have
been submitted to CODIS produce hits nationwide.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS suggested the director of the state crime
lab or the deputy commissioner of corrections might be better
able to respond to that issue.
CHAIR FRENCH said they'd hold that question.
SENATOR MCGUIRE said that in recent years the crime bills have
added funding for: a new medical examiner, a new position to
help with the backlog in the crime lab, two special prosecutors
and two investigators at the sex crime unit at the state level.
When legislators add these line items it would be helpful to get
some kind of report on how things are working. I'm still waiting
for that, she said.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS explained that virtually all the scientific
positions that were vacant or allocated have been filled. That's
probably the primary contributing factor for catching up on the
CODIS entry and case backlogs. He suggested that the Department
of Law representative probably could provide specific
information about the special prosecutor positions, but he knows
they have been assigned and have been working closely and
successfully with DPS units.
2:59:18 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY continued to highlight things that AST is
trying to do better.
· Spend more follow-up time with suspects.
· Spend time more time following up on the sex offender
registry to make sure offenders are complying with their
conditions.
· Addressing the UAA and DOL evaluations of the 2003-2004 AST
study, AST received grant funding to do more trooper
training in crime scene documentation, specifically in
rural Alaska.
· Allocate time to get out to communities to investigate
rumors in a proactive effort to find victims. This
addresses the issue that evidence may be gone by the time a
victim comes forward.
3:01:59 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY outlined some of the things that AST is proud
of.
· All authorized AST positions are filled. The caveat is that
these new troopers are still learning their jobs so it will
take time for them to get up to speed.
· Ten troopers have been added to the Bureau of Highway
Patrol.
· Seven new court service officers have been hired and they'd
like to hire more. Every time a CSO is hired it frees a
trooper to spend more time on the highways and to
investigate sexual assault and other cases.
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked if DPS is recruiting troopers with pilot
licenses.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY replied they aren't specifically recruiting
pilots but are happy when an applicant has a pilot license. When
funds are available they will provide flight training to
interested troopers. Whenever possible they use commercial or
contract pilots so the trooper can devote his or her efforts to
the investigation rather than to flying. That's not always
possible because many commercial and contract flights have to
fit a schedule or adhere to particular flying restrictions.
"Sometimes we just need to get there faster than we can wait on
the schedule.… It's good to have a combination and the ability
to do both," he said.
3:05:52 PM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS added that the aircraft program in Bethel
is very effective. Aircraft and pilot are designated so that the
pilot concentrates on serving the troopers' needs and the
troopers concentrate on providing the public's needs.
SENATOR MCGUIRE emphasized the importance of timely responses
and asked him to keep the committee abreast of which models
work.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if DPS partners with the Alaska
National Guard on crisis intervention in rural communities.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS explained that there are severe
restrictions on using U.S. Department of Defense assets for
policing. They are used heavily in certain aspects of law
enforcement such as drug eradication, but DoD assets aren't on
standby waiting to fly troopers.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if the State of Alaska
contributes to fund the Alaska National Guard.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said he doesn't have the answer.
3:09:19 PM
CHAIR FRENCH noted that SANE nurses are exploring the use of
telemedicine and he just learned to take pictures and shoot
amazingly clear video with a webcam. If he has his way that
technology will be used in the capitol building so that hearings
like this will be steamed live to the Internet. "The more you
make the capitol available to people, the more they feel plugged
into their government." He acknowledged that it's a weak second-
best effort to having boots on the ground, but if troopers are
weathered out of a remote site for a week, a face-to-face
meeting over a laptop may be a good alternative for a young
victim to meet the person who will build the case against her
abuser. He suggested they think about using new web technology.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY replied CDVSA supports the telemedicine model
to work with victims, particularly related to the SART response.
AST is interested in using whatever helps build a case. Right
now they are in the process of purchasing an electronic records
management system, which should be helpful.
3:12:53 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY continued to outline things that AST is proud
of.
· 22 new VPSO positions have been funded for FY10. These
officers are trained at the DPS Academy, mentored by the
troopers, and hired by village nonprofits.
Their value is reflected in the AST study, which shows that
there is a 60 percent increase in convictions when a VPSO is in
the village. 52 VPSOs currently are in the program, 8 applicants
have passed the hiring process, and 9 more are in the process of
getting background checks. Turnover in the VPSO ranks is high.
3:15:37 PM
KATIE TEPAS, Acting Director, Council on Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault and Program Coordinator, Alaska State Troopers,
Department of Public Safety, said she manages the federal grants
specific to violence against women and will be speaking to both
issues in both of her roles.
MS. TEPAS highlighted that the Office on Violence Against Women
is using federal funds for the following:
· The purchase of new sexual assault evidence collection kits
and forms, which is expected to be complete by this fall.
The kits will be for use by all police agencies statewide.
DPS and DOL have statutory authority over the kits and
forms and consultation with DHSS is required.
· SART training statewide for troopers and municipal
agencies. Conference costs are covered for forensic nurse
examiners and medical providers who present and facility
costs are subsidized to keep registration costs down for
everyone. Registration for Outside conferences can cost
upwards of $400 while registration costs for the next
instate conference will be $75. DPS looks at this as
sustaining SART more than sustaining SANE programs because
SART is the multidisciplinary model including victim
advocacy, law enforcement, medical, and DOL.
· To purchase equipment for municipal police departments and
hospitals to help with investigations.
· Advance level training for law enforcement, victim
advocacy, medical providers, and DOL. They try to have at
least one statewide training a year.
· Forensic costs of forensic medical exams for municipal
police departments across the state. This is an earmark so
there is concern about sustainability. These exams are
expensive with costs ranging from $800 to $3,200. Costs
differ between urban and rural areas and some smaller
agencies might not have funding. DPS uses general funds to
pay for exams and has budgeted $304,000.
3:19:43 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked the size of the earmark.
MS. TEPAS replied it is well over $1 million. Several projects
are done within that: equipment procurement, the kits, training,
and paying for exams. At this point we will only pay for them
for one year, she said.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked if, in a cost cutting measure,
SANE nurses are asked to collect a limited data set if the
perpetrator is unknown. "Because we know or I believe we might
infer that those typically get pushed to the side for
processing," she added.
MS. TEPAS directed attention to the next bullet point. The
Office on Violence Against Women is using federal funds for the
following:
· To fund one DNA analyst position at the crime lab. They are
also using additional funding for overtime or analysis and
to purchase the reagents necessary for additional testing
on unknown offender sexual assault cases. This will address
the backlog of 200 unknown previously worked cases with the
old file DNA and 90 cases that haven't yet been worked.
"The issue of unknown offenders might shortly become more
resolved than it has been," she said.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH referenced the $800 to $3,200 cost
range for the forensic portion of the forensic exam and noted
that this does include transportation. She asked if the forensic
nurse chooses the process they will use or if there is some
filtering criteria that determines the process they will use.
MS. TEPAS replied the new forms will specifically direct what
questions should be asked, what information should be gathered,
and what evidence is collected. The process should be fairly
standard across the board, but it all hinges on what the victim
says. The same samples should be collected for a known offender
as an unknown offender.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said she has been a responder so her
perspective as an advocate is a little different. For example,
"One of your criteria might be over 72 hours so you don't do the
same kind of analysis and present the same cost because of those
criteria. And I'm asking whether there's established criteria
that sort others out to have lower levels of examination, lower
cost also."
MS. TEPAS explained that law enforcement uses the following
criterion for whether a forensic exam will be authorized:
· Did the sexual assault happen within 96 hours? If more than
96 hours has passed troopers are instructed to look at
additional factors.
· Is the victim giving information that a sexual
assault has occurred? If so, are there genital or
non genital injuries? As Mr. Rosay pointed out,
non genital injury is significant to the process.
· Does the victim have pain, bleeding, or
discharge?
· What is the location of the assault? If the victim is not
able to give the location AST will accept case
responsibility.
· Did a sexual assault occur? Some victims don't know or
aren't sure that an assault happened and AST criteria is to
authorize exams for attempted sexual assault, full
penetration, or contact. "So we are covered in that; we
actually use specific language in our training and in our
policies and procedures to get at that specific issue."
In cases where troopers are uncertain, they are instructed to
consult with DOL, the local forensic nurse examiner, or the
local medical provider. If the trooper determines that a
forensic exam in unwarranted, the victim can still have a
medical exam. Law enforcement can never tell that victim they
cannot get a medical exam; they are only screening and
authorizing for the forensic exam, not the medical exam.
3:25:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH asked how often prosecuting attorneys
and judges who sit over cases of sexual assault attend training.
MS. TEPAS said on average 60 people attend the SART training
sessions and few are from the judiciary branch. Law enforcement,
medical providers, victim advocacy and DOL comprises the core
group of training attendees.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH explained that she brings that up in
this venue because of Senator French's past experience. From the
vantage point of a victim advocate she understands why it's
difficult to get judges and attorneys to attend training. She
asked for ways to encourage their attendance because the aspect
of accountability has been particularly challenging when judges
don't understand the nuances of sexual assault and rape. When a
judge doesn't understand DNA, defense attorneys can be quite
successful in the courtroom.
CHAIR FRENCH said the point is well taken. He then asked Ms.
TePas to describe what resources they are able to direct to SANE
nurses.
3:27:54 PM
MS. TEPAS explained that DPS has funded the trainer positions
for the core SART training team. For example, there is a SART
training coming up in Bethel and DPS will pay transportation and
instruction fees for the trainers to attend. If nurses want to
attend the training earmark money will be used for that. DPS has
found that some nurses would like to attend but their agencies
won't give them time away or will pay only after the training is
complete. We're trying to close that gap, she said. DPS has also
supported one round of tier-two training for nurses. She noted
that for AST the cost for the forensic portion of the exam can
be higher than the estimates because they may have to fly a
victim and her children in from a rural community and also
provide housing.
Referring to a previous question, she explained that VPSOs
receive sexual assault training at the academy as well as some
regional training depending on the request. She noted that DPS
did a pilot project in Bethel for first responders to sexual
assault that met specific needs based on the responder's job.
There was training for VPSOs, health aides, and behavioral
health aides together in conjunction with the forensic nursing
program, she said. It was very successful and they hope to
replicate that training with federal funds.
MS. TEPAS said she won't talk about the sexual assault studies
that Mr. Rosay discussed, but she would highlight that they are
proud of the studies. One significant thing that they found is
that they could do better at evidence collection and
documentation so using grant funding they held several crime
scene documentation trainings specifically for rural troopers.
The results have been positive. "Again, the research cannot just
show us what the scope of the problem is, but it can give us
significant direction of what we need to do and how we need to
improve," she said.
MS. TEPAS highlighted the following proposed studies:
· CDVSA is partnering with UAA to do a statewide
victimization survey. In FY10 the Council received an
incremental increase and $290,000 of it has been allocated
for research. Cost estimates for the statewide study range
from $400,000 to $600,000 and would only include the cost
of surveying women, not men. We're lacking some funds, she
said.
3:33:00 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked how much more it would cost to include
male victims and to do perpetrator studies.
MS. TEPAS replied the cost depends primarily on the number of
people who are surveyed. She suspects that everyone wants data
specific to their region and that typically requires a larger
survey population. Initially they looked at surveying 3,000 so
the cost to survey 3,000 women and 3,000 men would likely
double. That's just a rough estimate and we're still trying to
figure out what we can do with the funds we have, she added.
SENATOR MCGUIRE suggested she run the numbers and provide
legislators with the least and most costly scenarios before the
session begins. "I think it's time and I think you would see
support for a major investment in a [regional] study of this
kind…," she said.
MS. TEPAS said we will most definitely make the time.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH expressed interest in how they expect
people to respond to the survey. In Anchorage you may get
someone to talk openly on the phone, but from a regional and
cultural standpoint that may not be successful in some rural
areas, she said.
MS. TEPAS said initially they were looking at a phone survey and
now are looking at using the same survey tool that CDC is using
to do a new victim survey. The purpose for this is that the
Alaska data would cross talk to national data. That is a phone
survey.
3:37:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH pointed out that if a telephone model
is used, the source of the telephone numbers becomes a factor.
MS. TEPAS said they are working through issues to make certain
they get reliable and valid data that can cross walk to get true
national comparisons.
MS. TEPAS, continuing with the presentation, said some sexual
assault victims choose to seek services through victim advocacy
rather than reporting to law enforcement or medical providers.
She provided the following data about persons who sought
services from CDVSA funded programs and identified sexual
assault as their primary issue. Sexual abuse of a minor data is
not included.
· FY05: 516
· FY06:653
· FY07:740
· FY08:803
The one caveat is that CDVSA and the Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault are switching to a new database so
some numbers may shift.
MS. TEPAS highlighted the following:
· In FY10 CDVSA funded 20 victim service programs.
· Despite the significant incremental increase from PFD
funds, the Council was unable to fund $1,777,657 in
requests from victim service programs.
3:41:22 PM
COLONEL HOLLOWAY asked members to look at the CDVSA Strategic
Plan. It places more emphasis on prevention and mitigation
rather than reaction. He noted that AST received stimulus funds
to hire five additional sexual assault investigators and they
asked for three on behalf of municipal agencies. He emphasized
the teamwork with municipal agencies, VPSOs and other entities
to attack the problem of sexual assault. In conclusion he asked
members to notice the four main points: prevention, mitigation,
education, perpetrator accountability and Council effectiveness.
CHAIR FRENCH recalled that the stimulus-funded positions are
funded for three years after which it's up to the local
political entity to continue the funding. He asked if these are
the same.
COLONEL HOLLOWAY deferred to the Commissioner.
3:43:33 PM
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said the funding of the four positions
within AST and the three positions outside AST is four years
with no tie to a continuing requirement for matching funds. He
noted that there is considerable confusion between COPS stimulus
funding and the stimulus formula funding and explained that with
stimulus formula funding DPS is able to fund 100 percent of the
wages and cost of the positions rather than the entry-level
costs and no equipment you'd find in COPS (Community Oriented
Policing Services) Office grants.
COMMISSIONER MASTERS said he has two points to make in closing.
First the folks at DPS feel it is their job and collective
responsibility to continue to ask if they are doing enough and
if they are accurately describing of defining the problem.
Second, this is not entirely a law enforcement public safety
issue. It's an issue of prevention. We've got to stop people
from coming in the doors and getting put into the system, he
said.
CHAIR FRENCH thanked the presenters and expressed appreciation
for their willingness to continue to look at what they are doing
and asking how they can do better. "We'll encourage you, we'll
help you, we'll get you the tools; but you know far better than
we do what's happening out there," he said.
At ease from 3:45:44 PM to 3:52:00 PM
^Department of Law
RICK SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law (DOL), said he will describe in general terms
what DOL does in regard to the prosecution of sexual assault and
sexual abuse of a minor. DOL has 13 district attorney offices; 3
are one-person DA offices and 10 have more than one DA. 5 of the
larger offices have a DA who specializes in the prosecution of
sexual assault and sexual abuse cases. The other offices
generally have 3 lawyers so it's difficult to have someone focus
only on sexual assault and sexual abuse cases, but that does not
mean these DAs don't have training to work in this area.
3:54:56 PM
MR. SVOBODNY explained that in the last year DOL rewrote its
policies for handling sexual assault cases and every lawyer in
the department has been provided the updated information. All
DOL lawyers in the criminal division receive annual training in
the area of sexual assault and about ten percent of the lawyers
and paralegals are sent to out-of-state training each year. For
the last three years DOL has hired the national advocacy center
to provide innovative training to DAs. 24 new prosecutors have
attended basic and advanced trial advocacy classes in Homer and
Fairbanks. Experts were brought in to teach prosecutors to do
direct and cross examinations. The next class will be in Sitka
and the same lawyers will learn about using technology in the
courtroom. DOL is committed to SART training and prosecutors are
sent to these classes whenever one is offered.
3:59:23 PM
MR. SVOBODNY, addressing questions about tools that are needed
and a wish list, said DOL doesn't need many more tools because
when an issue has been identified the Legislature has taken
swift action to give prosecutors the ability to go forward with
prosecutions. Referencing Senator McGuire's earlier question, he
related that the Legislature funded two prosecutors with general
funds; one to prosecute cybercrimes and the other to prosecute
gangs. The gang prosecutor position was filled and a national
recruitment is ongoing for the cybercrime prosecutor. He noted
that DOL received a federal earmark for $900,000 that included
funding for two positions in the special assault in the
Anchorage DA Office. Those positions were filled as were 13
others from Kenai to Barrow. Not all are lawyers. That grant
money will be coming to an end fairly soon so further
discussions about those positions will be needed.
4:01:49 PM
MR. SVOBODNY, referencing previous questions about CODIS and the
state crime lab, explained that three years ago SB 90 allowed
collection of DNA on all felony arrests and misdemeanor crimes
against people. When that DNA is analyzed and a profile is
identified that data is sent to CODIS, which has separate
databases for known individuals, unknown individuals, and
missing persons. He related that the committee that was
mentioned [that prioritizes cases at the crime lab] deals with
cases that are being prosecuted and that are under
investigation.
CHAIR FRENCH asked who is on the committee.
4:04:17 PM
MR. SVOBODNY replied they are: Dwayne McConnell, the head of
rural prosecutions; John Novak, counsel for DPS and former
prosecutor; and Pat Gullufsen, cold case prosecutor for DOL.
Cases are prioritized and take into account the 120 day rule and
the seriousness of the crime. Noting that APD said that unsolved
cases need more attention, Mr. Svobodny said he'd take that from
this meeting.
4:06:20 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if DOL or DPS sometimes has had to divert
cases to private labs.
MR. SVOBODNY replied yes, but it's for technical reasons rather
than to work on a backlog of cases. The state crime lab doesn't
do mitochondrial DNA or Y chromosome DNA analysis. There have
been difficulties with private vendors, he added.
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to talk about the number of cases that
are referred, the number that are accepted, and what happens in
between the intake and the outcome.
4:09:20 PM
MR. SVOBODNY said he would defer to Ms. McLean, but with respect
to screening cases he would emphasize that it is and has been
department policy to receive deputy attorney general approval
for any plea negotiation to change a sex offense to a non sex
offense. "It would be a very rare situation where, for example,
we would let somebody plead to coercion as opposed to sexual
assault in the second degree," he said.
CHAIR FRENCH said his memory is that you can ask repeatedly but
you would never one.
4:10:30 PM
SUSAN MCLEAN, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Criminal
Division, Department of Law, said she prepared the data sheet,
"Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Cases Referred - 2005-2009"
that is in the packet. The information comes from year-end
reports and she expressed confidence that the total number of
cases referred each year is correct. She added that they are
generally categorized as sexual abuse of a minor and sexual
assault and would include all the cases within those definitions
in AS 11.41.
Responding to the question about what happens when a case is
referred, she emphasized that attorneys have it drilled in that
if they accept a case as sexual assault their goal is to get a
conviction on sexual assault and a sentence that is in
accordance with those that the Legislature has said are
appropriate. Referencing a second data sheet, "Comparison - 2005
and 2007 Average Sentences for Selected Crimes" she said it's
clearly working.
CHAIR FRENCH commented that the numbers are stunning.
MS. MCLEAN explained that she reviewed every case and
defendant's name and hand counted the highest crime for which
the person was convicted and the sentence they received. Between
2005 and 2007 for the crime of sexual abuse of a minor in the
first degree the average sentence jumped from 13.9 years to 37.3
years. 16 people were convicted in 2005 as opposed to 13 people
in 2007. Similarly, in 2005 3 people were convicted of sexual
assault in the first degree and received an average sentence of
5.6 years while 4 people were convicted of sexual assault in the
first degree in 2007 and received an average sentence of 41.25
years. She acknowledged that there are fewer convictions and a
lot of cases are pending from 2007. With the advent of the new
sentencing laws our feet are being held to the fire to prove
cases, she said. More likely than not if a defendant who is
facing this kind of sentence requests a continuance, it will be
granted. Cases are taking longer to investigate and to get to
trial and there aren't as many pleas since the sentencing range
now is so markedly different. DOL is accepting cases that it
absolutely knows it can prove sexual assault and they are
getting convictions on those cases.
4:14:52 PM
MS. MCLEAN noted that within the last two weeks the courts have
handed down two 99 year sentences for repeat sexual assault
offenders. "When I started this business that would have been
absolutely unheard of."
CHAIR FRENCH remarked two in one week is cause for some
congratulations.
MS. MCLEAN said the point is that DOL has to talk about what
they will accept as well as what they have to prove, how they
have to prove it, the likelihood of proving it, and the downside
is having a case that isn't convicted. We're still getting used
to the new sentences, she said. We're asking for aggravating
factors, they are being found, and we're getting higher
sentences. She noted that the "CSI effect" is real and therefore
ties into everything that's been discussed about the importance
of a prompt investigation that gathers necessary information.
She added that if the evidence isn't gathered her view is that
it's not because of a lack of commitment. It's because the plane
can't fly and because there isn't a local person to hold the web
cam. She expressed the preference to get more local people
involved in the process.
REPRESENTATIVE FAIRCLOUGH said that from a victim advocacy and
the people's perspective there is still a concern that such a
small number of cases are going forward. The general public
isn't here to listen to why that might be. The window for
prosecuting is narrowed but there is a support network that is
lacking as more cases are taken to fruition, she said.
4:18:22 PM
CHAIR FRENCH said it's a good point. DOL is doing a good job but
it is handing cases back to AST and APD that can't be
prosecuted. The holistic approach that the commissioner and
Colonel Holloway spoke to has to make room for the cases that
don't go forward to court.
MR. SVOBODNY said DOL does things well but that doesn't mean
they are winning. DOL, DPS, and DHSS together and separately
have to be in the schools and in the community saying that this
conduct is not acceptable.
CHAIR FRENCH said he recently spoke to the new attorney general
and expressed the hope that he use the power of the office and
the public relations that come with it to make it more a bully
pulpit. "I'm not certain that the Department of Law has done a
good enough job over the years of outreach," he said.
Prosecutors hold a powerful position from which to communicate
with the public just as troopers, policemen, and firemen do.
CHAIR FRENCH asked for a few specifics on what it is that makes
the difference in a case that can go forward versus one that
can't.
4:21:25 PM
MS. MCLEAN said she agrees with a lot of what Mr. Rosay said and
it's wonderful to have a forensic exam, but documenting non
genital injury with a camera can make a huge difference if the
issue is whether or not the victim consented to sexual
intercourse or was the victim of a brutal assault. Having
someone on scene that the victim can turn to immediately is
important. If it's 30 degrees below and nobody's flying more
than evidence is lost. The victim may lose the willingness to go
forward if there's no one there for her. "I can't say strongly
enough how supportive the Department of Law is of the idea of
taking a global approach to this problem." It's a problem of
public health, education, social service, public safety, and
law. Society has to get to the point where the victim recognizes
that they didn't deserve what happened and that they will hang
in until help arrives. "What we need to do is find a way to get
someone to help her."
MS. MCLEAN pointed out that what turns the tide for DOL is the
lack of physical evidence, the lack of documentary evidence, and
the lack of witness statement and in a lot of cases the issue is
the lapse of time. One of the most difficult scenarios is sexual
assault in the second degree and prosecutors are very dedicated
to those. In some ways the victim isn't available as a witness
because she was incapacitated. In those cases you have to rely
on what the physical evidence shows and what other people heard
or saw. Prosecutors have to ask if they can prove the case
today. If the answer is no, the next question is whether the
officer can be sent back to gather more evidence. "Could we do
something with a Glass warrant?" The statistic that isn't
included in the data sheets is the length of time that DOL will
hold on to a case before throwing in the towel. I think we'll
try everything before we do that, she said.
CHAIR FRENCH said that gave good specifics as well as broader
aspects of the issue.
4:25:04 PM
MS. MCLEAN said she agrees with Mr. Svobodny that the
Legislature has given DOL the legal tools it needs. The
department is dependent to an extent on federal funding that has
to be mindful that those funds will be going away. The rural
prosecution unit has three very experienced attorneys that do a
lot of complex sexual assault cases or mentor younger
prosecutors in how to do them. That unit is 100 percent funded
by a federal earmark so it will be a resource need. Also, DOL
needs to provide better statistics and will do so after the new
case management program is in place. "I would just say that we
are completely ready to work collaboratively with other members
of the community and really take on this problem." that with the
new case management."
4:26:26 PM
MR. SVOBODNY offered two suggestions. First he asked the
committee review the bail statute that was passed in 1962. The
bail statutes for domestic violence and sexual assault have been
piecemealed and prosecutors haven't been very successful
convincing the courts that they were done properly. In the 1990s
most states revised their bail statutes when the federal
government revised theirs and he would suggest looking at a
quasi federal model. The second point might not be addressed
through legislation but he wants to point out that the average
felony case in Anchorage takes 662 days to get to trial. 90
percent of the cases go to trial in 6 months but some cases are
5 years old. "Those two things are suggestions that we might
want to think about for future legislation."
thanked the committee, the participants and everyone who
attended the meeting. "For all of you this is yet another step
in the right direction; it's a community effort."
4:29:05 PM
CHAIR FRENCH adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting at 4:29 p.m.
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