Mariska Hargitay, who plays detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, wants the US to get serious about rape. She’s launched a victims advocacy group called the Joyful Heart Foundation, initiated a “No More” campaign, and chosen an icon—a blue doughnut—that she hopes will become as familiar as the pink ribbon associated with breast cancer.

Hargitay’s involvement with victims began about 15 years ago when she began researching her role on the TV show. She was horrified to learn that hundreds of thousands of “rape kits”—evidence collected from alleged victims of sexual assault—have never been processed. The kits, which typically include clothing fibers, hairs, and DNA swabs, take several hours to collect. Victims describe the experience as invasive and humiliating. The cost of processing a kit ranges from $1,200 and $1,500.

Those unprocessed kits mean that hundreds of thousands of victims—mostly women—have never been given an opportunity for justice. Even worse, their attackers remain free to rape again.

Hargitay has been pushing for law enforcement agencies to clear their backlogs of unprocessed kits, and her persistence is paying off. Detroit recently processed 400 kits, identified 23 serial rapists as a result, and obtained three convictions. But 11,000 rape kits, some 20 years old, are still in storage in Detroit.

In New York, Hargitay successfully lobbied for a database that includes DNA samples from anyone convicted of a crime, and it’s helping police identify and prosecute rapists. New York has gone on to clear its backlog of 17,000 kits, and its arrest rate increased from 40 percent to 70 percent, according to Hargitay. Los Angeles has cleared its 12,669 kits.

“No more” is only a two-word phrase. But when it’s uttered by a popular media personality who’s taken a strong stand against wrongdoing, “No more” can be a powerful force for change.

To learn more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-mariska-hargitay-helping-rape-victims-get-a-shot-at-justice/2013/03/15/4e76ede4-8da6-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html

http://joyfulheartfoundation.org/

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/02/16/11000-rape-kits-remain-untested-in-detroit/

Jean Reynolds, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of English at Polk State College, where she taught report writing and communication skills in the criminal justice program. She is the author of seven books, including Police Talk (Pearson), co-written with the late Mary Mariani. Visit her website at www.YourPoliceWrite.com for free report writing resources. Go to www.Amazon.com for a free preview of her book The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers. Dr. Reynolds is the police report writing expert for Law Enforcement Today.

Rape accusations present special challenges for law enforcement: Witnesses are generally absent, alcohol or illegal substances can be a factor, and consent—or its absence—can be impossible to prove.

A case featured in Thursday’s New York Times includes all three factors, along with further complications: Three months passed before charges were filed, the accusation was made not by the victim but by her boyfriend, and—most seriously—the alleged attacker, Greg Kelly, is a TV news anchor and the son of New York City’s police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly.

The combination of he-said-she-said accounts and a high-profile defendant made this an exceptionally difficult case for the New York Police Department. Is the accuser credible? Why did she wait so long? Why didn’t she press charges herself? Did alcohol affect her behavior and her ability to remember what happened? Will the defendant’s prominence give him an unfair advantage as the investigation unfolds?

The Department decided to take the unusual step of asking the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., to conduct the investigation. It’s an extraordinary situation: Robert M. Morgenthau, who had previously run the office for 35 years, said he could not recall a case in which the entire Police Department was left out of a criminal inquiry because of a potential conflict of interest.

Police departments in smaller communities can be thankful that they don’t have to operate in the glare of publicity that officers in New York take for granted. Still, any officer—even in the tiniest hamlet—can expect to encounter similar challenges: Scrutiny from the media, evidence that raises more questions than it answers, a defendant from a prominent family.

What guidelines can help officers function effectively under these difficult circumstances? The answer is surprisingly simple: Act in accordance with agency policies.

An officer’s duties include maintaining order, protecting public safety, investigating and collecting evidence, recording relevant information, and making arrests when necessary.

Officers are not authorized to try cases or make judgments: “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been drinking.” “That was a stupid way to handle the problem.” “Do you seriously think I’m going to believe what you just told me?”

In a perfect world, criminals would be easy to spot, truth would be glaringly obvious, and the police would always be right. But experienced officers know that appearances aren’t always what they seem. Government officials break the law on occasion, petite women have been known to victimize burly men, and ordained clergy sometimes take advantage of delinquent youths.

Sexual assault cases, as we noted earlier, require exceptional sensitivity and caution. The wisest course of action for an officer is simply to handle each situation as professionally as possible, remembering that the best way to deal with mistakes is not to make them in the first place.

Jean Reynolds, Ph.D., is the author of Police Talk and The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers. Visit www.YourPoliceWrite for free resources for writing better reports.