When sexual assaults are reported, however, technology plays a crucial role in solving these crimes.
“We have great tools at our disposal,” said Pat Holl, a criminal investigator with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.
“I certainly don’t think our resources or technology is lacking. When I have corroborating evidence, DNA testing is fantastic.”
A veteran officer with 19 years of experience, Holl is responsible for monitoring sex offenders in Madison County.
Last month, thousands of crime scene experts converged on downtown Atlanta for the 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences Scientific Sessions. Some of the conference presentations described new technologies that can up the yield from biological evidence related to sexual assaults.
Pressure cycling technology, for example, speeds the extraction of the most telling information from mixtures of blood, semen and skin collected during a rape examination.
“So, right now, they [law enforcement] use something called an organic extraction, where they first slice the female cells, remove the DNA, and then slice the male cells,” said Deepthi Nori of the International Forensic Research Institute at Florida International University. “And that process takes a long time. What we are trying to do instead is to focus on the sperm cells and break them while leaving the female cells intact and untouched. This will reduce analysis time by a lot.”
According to www.humanrightswatch.org, the United States has an estimated 400,000-500,000 untested rape kits. These kits lay idle in police evidence storage facilities and crime labs across the country.
According to Nori, the organic extraction process will help move along the large backlog of rape cases that have been untouched for several years.
Another study at the forensics conference indicated that the orange-lensed goggles most crime labs use to look for biological materials under fluorescent light may not be the best tool for the job. This can be especially important when the goal is to find traces of semen on clothing, upholstery, or other surfaces.
Researchers in the Forensic Science Program at San Jose University set up a light source and compared how well 34 different filters made semen stains visible under fluorescent light. Among these were the familiar orange goggles, said Kelly Conroy, presenting author of the study.
“Detection could be better improved by using more discreet filters than the orange goggles,” said Conroy. “These filters might be able to detect lower amounts of semen. It’s basically improving the ability to collect more information from a smaller sample.”
The stakes are high because sexual assaults are so common.
The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), estimates that an American is sexually assaulted every two and a half minutes. This adds up to 210,240 each year.
The term “sexual assault” encompasses rape or attempted rape, as well as unwanted sexual contact or threats, according to The National Center for Victims of Crime. In most states, however, the term sexual assault is used as a substitute for the word rape.
In 2010, 2,051 rapes were reported in Georgia, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s official crime statistics. If national figures hold true here, only 6 percent of the perpetrators – or 123 people – will spend a day in jail for these crimes.
Carolyn A. Dickey is a graduate student at the University of Georgia studying health and medical journalism.
You have thrown out several unsupported statements so your judging the legitimacy of this article is without merit and quite arrogant. I agree drunk driving is a major problem we have yet to solve or even take seriously enough.
Ms. Dickey did fail to note one of her sources and to ask for clarification on the following quote: "When I have corroborating evidence, DNA testing is fantastic.” A retired police officer recently explained to me that the DNA test kits are held ready for testing until a court case, with corroborating evidence, needs the results. The evidence is never tested until a case is brought to court. That is why there are so many test kits untested and waiting in storage.
“It took a lot of spiritual awakening for me. I would not allow people to help. I did not want people to know how much I was hurting. There’s so much stigma about this in our society. I didn’t want to have that label hanging around my neck, so I kept quiet,” she said. “I thought I could fix myself, and I couldn’t.”
Dare to read it, stephen!
Statistics can be pulled from different places and give very different indications. Some statistics are pull from the law enforcement agencies, while others are from the victims, themselves. The point is that much more reporting happens when the police are not involved.
“The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) asks victims of crime whether the crimes were reported to police. Data are available on both crimes reported to the police as well as those that were not reported. The data on crime reported to police are based on information the victims give at the time of interview about whether they or someone else reported the incident.”
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=96
"The FBI has gathered crime statistics from law enforcement agencies across the Nation that voluntarily participate in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program since 1930. "
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/ucrdata/
If the victim never reports the crime to the law enforcement agency, there won’t be a record of the assault in these statistics, thus these statistics will indicate lower numbers of assaults.
Many victims tend to want to avoid the police, especially since often the victim knows the aggressor.
“It is estimated that 80-85% of rapists are known to the adult they attack. ‘Acquaintance rape’ by a friend, new acquaintance, or coworker is frequent, particularly among young, single women.”
http://www.stanford.edu/group/svab/myths.shtml
Something else to think about: Men also get raped. I wonder how many men would be able to muster that kind of courage to report sexual assault knowing the way some people still think...
Indeed. And even children who have no idea what to do. Thank you for your information and insightful comments.