Name: Chicago police earn ‘beyond a failing grade’ in clearing sexual assault cases, according to new report
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Chicago police earn ‘beyond a failing grade’ in clearing sexual assault cases, according to new report

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The vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday. The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of fears the system will challenge and doubt them. Advertisement “There is a sense of institutional betrayal,” said Christine Crow, a staff attorney at CAASE who represents survivors during criminal legal proceedings. Survivors already struggle with a sense of wanting to come forward to protect others, Crow said, and a broken system is a roadblock. “They are trying to make sure they are doing everything in their own power to uphold the feeling of obligation they have," she said. "It’s incredibly demoralizing. For some it can be re-traumatizing.” Advertisement The report, “Too Little, Too Late?,” examined 10 years of crime data that is publicly available on the city’s website, focusing on four sexual assault charges: aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse. The group and other advocates are using the report’s findings to demand a more robust response to sexual violence in Chicago, asking politicians and policymakers to throw support and dollars — including some from the police budget — behind a wider menu of solutions, ranging from more free legal services, rape crisis centers, community-based mental health services and accommodations at schools and workplaces for survivors experiencing trauma. “I would love to see our leaders, the mayor, our aldermen, all the folks who are involved in this system to really account for the fact that only 10 to 20% are getting an arrest,” said Madeleine Behr, policy manager for CAASE and the writer of the report. “That is beyond a failing grade.” The findings were not surprising to the advocate community, which has long criticized Chicago law enforcement for a lack of commitment to ensure victims of sexual violence get justice. They’ve also previously called for a wider array of solutions and support for victims. But the demands are now happening amid an intense national debate over policing effectiveness and strong calls for the diversion of policing funds in the wake of high-profile cases of excessive force, including the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd during an arrest in May. The Chicago police budget is $1.7 billion. And the city is about to start budget hearings, with some nongovernment organizations and progressive aldermen expected to argue that policing dollars can be better spent in communities and on prevention. In a statement, the department said it agreed with a key finding in the new report that policing alone cannot address gender violence. The department said it had recently secured a $1 million grant for Chicago police to hire a coordinator to work with advocates and organizations on policies and training. “The report … highlights several important findings, and we share the opinion put forth in the report that sex crimes are not something that police can solve alone," the statement read. "We need the help of the communities we serve to raise awareness around sexual assault and provide additional support to Chicago’s survivors.” The report comes as the department has faced criticism for the rate at which it solves other serious crimes. Between 2011 and 2017, clearance rates for nonfatal shootings and homicides in the city showed dramatic declines, falling some 20 points below national averages and far beneath other big cities such as New York and Los Angeles. An outside evaluation of the detective division recommended several changes in 2019, including more rigorous hiring and selection of detectives, improving supervision of cases and detectives, increasing access to technology and reassigning detectives to district houses, closer to the communities they work in. At the end of that year, the homicide clearance rate had improved somewhat to 53%, compared with 36% two years earlier, according to statistics released by the department Wednesday. Advertisement The research for the CAASE report was limited to sexual assault cases, and started last summer as a way to update existing data on outcomes of rape allegations, the organization said. But as the policing conversation around reform and funding grew more urgent this year, the advocates became concerned about some comments on social media that argued against cutting policing budgets — posts that suggested change should be resisted because victims of domestic violence and sexual assault need police to investigate cases. “We have been deeply distressed by the way survivors of sexual violence are being used as a political shield to deflect urgent critiques of (U.S.) policing systems, including Chicago’s,” the report reads. “Questions like ‘What happens to rapists and abusers without police?’ and ‘Won’t sexual assault and domestic violence be more frequent if police aren’t there to investigate and arrest offenders?’ stem from a deep misunderstanding of how these crimes are being addressed. For survivors seeking justice through the criminal legal system, current responses are grossly inadequate despite law enforcement and the public claiming that addressing sex crimes is a top priority.” To make their point, the researchers decided to narrow their first report to an examination of Chicago police to offer a clear picture of current arrest outcomes. A second report on the performance of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office is also expected. Overall, the arrest rate over the 10 years for all categories was about 13%, according to the report. And, even when an arrest occurred, survivors had to wait an average of 13 to 72 days for their assailant to be detained. The charge with the least arrests was criminal sexual assault, the researchers found, which typically includes allegations that an offender committed rape without a weapon. This would be indicative of an acquaintance rape, which advocates say is the most common type of assault but the one investigators are least likely to vigorously investigate. Sarah Layden, the policy and program director at Resilience, a Chicago-based rape crisis center, is among those calling on the Police Department to engage in more serious analysis of why so many cases go unsolved. Layden called some of the figures in the report “appalling,” and she said alternative ways for supporting victims should be funded. “Through the years I have come to the reality that the criminal justice system is not the complete answer … It is simply not a system that is set up for justice across the board,” said Layden. “We need to look at some of the investment we’ve made in the criminal justice system and find out if there are alternative ways to address sexual violence,” she said. "Perhaps there needs to be conversations around what does bring survivors healing.” Advertisement Recommendations in the report include that Chicago police analysts do a more thorough examination of the details of each sexual assault case to find “insight into what cases are likely to see an arrest.” And the report demands state officials correct the “ineffective system” of testing and tracking rape kits, a system criticized for years for long processing delays. Advertisement And its writers also join the chorus of groups calling for diversion of police funds, backing a campaign by a network of Chicago-based domestic violence organizations calling for the reallocation of $35 million from the Chicago police budget for services for survivors. “We support this ask, and press city leaders to commit to this funding," the report reads. “Prevention initiatives are the only way to stop gender-based violence, including sexual harm and domestic violence, from occurring in the first place and help survivors heal if it occurs.” The study did not explore specific reasons why there are not more arrests, but rather focused on the data and the recommendations. Investigators have long said such cases can present a special challenge because of the time it takes to process evidence, the fact there are often no third-party witnesses and obstacles that arise when the perpetrator and victim know each other. In its statement, the Chicago Police Department outlined other initiatives that aim to improve its investigations, including creating “trauma-informed” interview rooms at two of the city’s detective areas, which have more comfortable seating for survivors. The department also collaborates with prosecutors and advocates, who meet regularly to address sexual assault cases in Chicago. And in 2018, Chicago police began teaching a class at the department’s training academy, which was required by a change in state law, that emphasizes the need for sensitivity in difficult cases but also teaches the science behind how a brain reacts to trauma. The training in Chicago is given to recruits and detectives alike, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

The vast majority of sexual assault and abuse reports made to the Chicago Police Department in the past decade — between 80% and 90% — have not resulted in an arrest, according to a study of city data released Thursday. The findings in the report by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation reflect the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing problem with clearance rates, but also shine a light on the traumatizing effects the lack of arrests can have on victims, advocates said, many of whom rarely report such crimes at all because of fears the system will challenge and doubt them....

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Annie Sweeney is on the Tribune's criminal justice team, covering the impact of violence in Chicago and policies to address it. She has reported for the Sun-Times, the Daily Southtown and City News Bureau. She joined the Tribune in 2009.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-anne-sweeney-staff.html#nt=byline

Annie Sweeney

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Chicago police earn ‘beyond a failing grade’ in clearing sexual assault cases, according to new report

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