Minnesota releases victim-centered sexual assault investigation guide

(FOX 9) - The Minnesota BCA has released new guidelines for how law enforcement across the state should approach sexual assault cases.

Addressing shortcomings

The backstory:

BCA Superintendent Drew Evans says implementing this guide — with best practices and tools investigators and local agencies across Minnesota can use — has been years in the making. 

Reports in 2018 identified significant shortcomings in how sexual assault investigations have been handled in the state.

Evans says this was in response to addressing the shortcomings and is another step towards more uniformity and sensitivity when it comes to handling sexual assault cases in Minnesota.               

"Wherever a sexual assault is reported in our state, survivors deserve a professional, compassionate, thorough response grounded in best practices with a victim-centered approach," said Evans.

"What we have learned in Ramsey County working with our Sexual Offense Services and advocacy organizations is that cooperation and that partnership between law enforcement and victim advocacy right away really matters. In fact, because of the partnerships we’ve been able to improve the dropout rate in Ramsey County, we’ve improved our charging rate since 2018. Because at that time, we released conclusions of a two-year report that we did on all the instances of sexual assaults in Ramsey County," said John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney.

"I want to underscore one point that was in this report that needs to be underscored as we think about these guidelines. At the end of the day, these guidelines are just a piece of paper, it won’t matter unless there’s intentionality and there is leadership. And where we need leadership is we need more funding so that there are enough investigators across the state of Minnesota, including the BCA, as well as all of our local law enforcement agencies."

Victim-survivor-centered approach

What they're saying:

Officials say these are recommendations rather than a mandate. It sets expectations for how to approach victims, evidence, and best practices for a thorough investigation. The BCA has also incorporated these guidelines into training for Minnesota law enforcement agencies.

Evans introduced the Minnesota Guide to Sexual Assault Investigations in St. Paul on Wednesday. He was joined by prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, medical professionals, and victim advocates. They were just a few of the many collaborators who contributed their expertise to developing the guidelines.

The 81-page guide provides officers with practical tools as they work through serious and complex investigations, including understanding the victim trauma experience, best practices for conducting thorough investigations, and strategies for interacting with victims.

They say the goal is to increase consistency across the state.

"Ultimately, this is about doing everything we can do make sure survivors are heard, respected, and supported while giving investigators the resources they need to follow evidence and pursue justice," said Evans.

County prosecutors say sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes. Advocates and healthcare professionals say these guidelines will help increase the community’s trust in the process.

"Oftentimes, they are some of the first people who hear about what happened to that victim-survivor and I can say that trauma is something that manifests in each person very differently and something I really like about these guidelines is that they really bake that in," said Breanna Heisterkamp, Hennepin Assault Response Team Forensic Nurse Manager at Hennepin Healthcare. "Brings that understanding so that a survivor feels heard and understood when they’re sharing what happened to them. I think it also brings consistency to the medical response."

Partners:

The BCA developed these guidelines in partnership with several other organizations, including:

• St. Paul Police Department
• Ramsey County Attorney’s Office
• Hennepin County Attorney’s Office
• Central Minnesota Child Advocacy Center
• Midwest Children’s Resource Center
• Allina Forensic Nursing Program
• Hennepin Assault Response Team, Hennepin Healthcare
• HealthPartners Medical Forensic Team
• Sexual Violence Center
• Ramsey County SOS Sexual Violence Services
• Minnesota Sex Crimes Investigators Association

Evans says federal funding made developing the guide possible using a Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant received by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Justice Programs.

And said this guide will evolve as authorities learn more.

"As we evolve, as we learn from our victim-survivors and how to increasingly make that victim-centered approach and empower our victim-survivors in that process, those processes need to evolve. And identify individual expertise. As noted, various groups contributed. Different partners, through review, through collaboration, through writing this particular document and learn what the current state of the best practices are," said Evans.

Learn more:

View the Minnesota Guide to Sexual Assault Investigations by clicking here.