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Rape Crisis Center and Cuyahoga County to Convene Police Chiefs for Development of Model Policy on Investigating Sex Crimes
Media contact:
Nicole Dailey Jones: (216) 263-4602, (216)338-0863 or ndjones@cuyahogacounty.us
John Kohlstrand: (216) 698-2099 or jkohlstrand@cuyahogacounty.us
CLEVELAND — Recognizing the lack of a coordinated approach to how Cuyahoga County communities respond to and investigate sexual assaults and related crimes, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and Cuyahoga County will convene police chiefs from across the county to develop a model policy that can be adopted by any municipality.
In coordination with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center – whose executive director, Megan O’Bryan was part of a City of Cleveland task force to develop an improved policy – Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald will invite police chiefs to a meeting in December to pursue the development of a model policy for Cuyahoga County.
“As we look at opportunities for local communities to collaborate with each other, creating an appropriate, consistent, and professional response for victims of sexual assault throughout the county is a high priority,” FitzGerald said.
“The details of how a sex crime case is handled are extremely important,” O’Bryan said. “Small missteps in communicating with the victim and investigating the case can quickly lead to failed investigations. With a modest amount of guidance, every police department in our community can develop and execute an effective policy.”
FitzGerald and O’Bryan both recognize that law enforcement officials – including those at the county – can learn from those communities that have implemented policies in their jurisdictions. “We are not talking about starting from scratch,” FitzGerald said. “There are local and national examples that we can easily adapt in order to move forward quickly.”
As noted in a recent Plain Dealer story, the state of Virginia's directive on local policies includes requiring departments to have effective training, to understand the use of polygraphs, to develop a protocol for transporting victims and to provide information on legal and community resources. “We have covered much of this territory locally and are prepared to provide easy-to-use guidance for those communities who want to undertake this effort,” O’Bryan said.
Nicole Dailey Jones: (216) 263-4602, (216)338-0863 or ndjones@cuyahogacounty.us
John Kohlstrand: (216) 698-2099 or jkohlstrand@cuyahogacounty.us
CLEVELAND — Recognizing the lack of a coordinated approach to how Cuyahoga County communities respond to and investigate sexual assaults and related crimes, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and Cuyahoga County will convene police chiefs from across the county to develop a model policy that can be adopted by any municipality.
In coordination with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center – whose executive director, Megan O’Bryan was part of a City of Cleveland task force to develop an improved policy – Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald will invite police chiefs to a meeting in December to pursue the development of a model policy for Cuyahoga County.
“As we look at opportunities for local communities to collaborate with each other, creating an appropriate, consistent, and professional response for victims of sexual assault throughout the county is a high priority,” FitzGerald said.
“The details of how a sex crime case is handled are extremely important,” O’Bryan said. “Small missteps in communicating with the victim and investigating the case can quickly lead to failed investigations. With a modest amount of guidance, every police department in our community can develop and execute an effective policy.”
FitzGerald and O’Bryan both recognize that law enforcement officials – including those at the county – can learn from those communities that have implemented policies in their jurisdictions. “We are not talking about starting from scratch,” FitzGerald said. “There are local and national examples that we can easily adapt in order to move forward quickly.”
As noted in a recent Plain Dealer story, the state of Virginia's directive on local policies includes requiring departments to have effective training, to understand the use of polygraphs, to develop a protocol for transporting victims and to provide information on legal and community resources. “We have covered much of this territory locally and are prepared to provide easy-to-use guidance for those communities who want to undertake this effort,” O’Bryan said.
