NCJ Number
177441
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 68 Issue: 6 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 12-16
Date Published
1999
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A sexual assault victim's anonymous reporting of the crime to police ("blind" reporting) can benefit both the victim and the police.
Abstract
Sexual assault victims may be hypersensitive to real or perceived threats to their safety or their confidentiality. At the same time, investigation and prosecution invite threats to confidentiality and the physical and emotional safety of the victim, and victims who disclose their experience open themselves up for additional violations. Consequently, many victims choose to focus on their own healing by maintaining tight control over what happens in the aftermath of being sexually assaulted. Blind reporting can provide victims of sexual violence and other sensitive crimes a safe haven to file a report. Describing the assault anonymously to a law enforcement professional gives the victim an opportunity to affirm that she was criminally victimized. At the same time, the investigator has the opportunity to provide the appropriate community services of sharing information, answering questions, and making referrals for services to health clinics or rape crisis centers. Further, it provides police information about the patterns of behavior of repeat offenders, which can be used to identify assailants or build cases for court. To develop an effective blind reporting system, police agencies should establish a policy of confidentiality, accept the amount of information offered without intimidating the victim to share more, accept the information whenever the victim might offer it, accept information from third parties, clarify options for future contact, maintain blind reports in separate files, and categorize the information contained within the blind report. The article also discusses how to overcome departmental resistance to blind reporting. 3 notes