Baltimore Grapples With Rape Cases Controversy
A disturbing percentage of rape claims classified as “unfounded” by Baltimore City Police compelled city leaders to launch an investigation and set up support services for possible sexual assault victims.
A recent report by the Baltimore Sun indicates over the last four years, the Baltimore Police Department has recorded the highest percentage of rape cases officers determine are false or baseless of any U.S. city. The report was compiled using statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
More than 30 percent of possible rapes were deemed “unfounded” by detectives investigating the cases, four times the national average.
The increase in unfounded rapes coincides with a dramatic decrease in rapes reported in Baltimore over the last 14 years. There were 684 rapes reported to the FBI in 1995, but just 158 last year, a decline of nearly 80 percent.
Nationally, rapes have fallen 8 percent over the same period.
According to the Sun article, many alleged rape victims for various reasons routinely rejected filing formal rape complaints and instead signed statements saying no assault occurred. Many women’s advocates believe Baltimore police policies discourage victims from coming forward.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake responded publicly to the Sun report within a day of its publication by announcing the implementation of a sexual assault response hotline and other measures.
“We need to do everything in our power to ensure victim/survivors of rape and sexual assault feel safe reporting incidents,” Rawlings-Blake said June 29.
The hotline, which was up and running by June 30, is established for victims of rape and sexual assault to connect with services and report past incidents or mistreatment that may have occurred while reporting a crime of sexual assault. The hotline is operated by TurnAround Inc., a sexual assault and domestic violence center, which has provided support services for sexual assault victims and survivors in the Baltimore area for more than 30 years.
By July 1, more than 20 women who said their reports of rapes or sexual abuse were dismissed by Baltimore police had reached out to the city’s hotline.
TurnAround will refer all case information to the Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice and will be included in an audit of sexual assault cases ordered by Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.
“The Baltimore Police Department is committed to working with leading sexual assault experts and organizations, including TurnAround, to develop and implement new best practices that encourage victims/survivors to come forward,” Commissioner Bealefeld said in a statement. “This new hotline is just a first step of many to come to improve our investigative practices and response to incidents of rape and sexual assault.”
According to Bealefeld, his department will specifically conduct internal reviews of training and individual practices.
“We need to be working with the community to get their confidence that their reports will be taken seriously,” Bealefeld said during a recent press conference, "and that the Baltimore City Police Department is going to do a good job investigating."
A recent report by the Baltimore Sun indicates over the last four years, the Baltimore Police Department has recorded the highest percentage of rape cases officers determine are false or baseless of any U.S. city. The report was compiled using statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
More than 30 percent of possible rapes were deemed “unfounded” by detectives investigating the cases, four times the national average.
The increase in unfounded rapes coincides with a dramatic decrease in rapes reported in Baltimore over the last 14 years. There were 684 rapes reported to the FBI in 1995, but just 158 last year, a decline of nearly 80 percent.
Nationally, rapes have fallen 8 percent over the same period.
According to the Sun article, many alleged rape victims for various reasons routinely rejected filing formal rape complaints and instead signed statements saying no assault occurred. Many women’s advocates believe Baltimore police policies discourage victims from coming forward.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake responded publicly to the Sun report within a day of its publication by announcing the implementation of a sexual assault response hotline and other measures.
“We need to do everything in our power to ensure victim/survivors of rape and sexual assault feel safe reporting incidents,” Rawlings-Blake said June 29.
The hotline, which was up and running by June 30, is established for victims of rape and sexual assault to connect with services and report past incidents or mistreatment that may have occurred while reporting a crime of sexual assault. The hotline is operated by TurnAround Inc., a sexual assault and domestic violence center, which has provided support services for sexual assault victims and survivors in the Baltimore area for more than 30 years.
By July 1, more than 20 women who said their reports of rapes or sexual abuse were dismissed by Baltimore police had reached out to the city’s hotline.
TurnAround will refer all case information to the Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice and will be included in an audit of sexual assault cases ordered by Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.
“The Baltimore Police Department is committed to working with leading sexual assault experts and organizations, including TurnAround, to develop and implement new best practices that encourage victims/survivors to come forward,” Commissioner Bealefeld said in a statement. “This new hotline is just a first step of many to come to improve our investigative practices and response to incidents of rape and sexual assault.”
According to Bealefeld, his department will specifically conduct internal reviews of training and individual practices.
“We need to be working with the community to get their confidence that their reports will be taken seriously,” Bealefeld said during a recent press conference, "and that the Baltimore City Police Department is going to do a good job investigating."
