Where should police and courts draw the line on bragging rights?
(AURORA, Ore.) - Police are publicizing the conviction of an Oregon woman this week who filed what turned out to be a false report, stating she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted over a three day period by an unknown assailant.
Some may applaud this, and perhaps they are right, but I question the implications.
I have written extensively about an author named Coral Anika Theill who in her previous life, was a battered and abused mother and wife in rural Polk County Oregon[1]. When she reported to the local authorities that she had been systematically abused and raped by her husband, they threatened to arrest her.
I know Coral would be repulsed to know that this woman's name was being blasted across every screen and print page in the state right now. What I referenced above is only part of her horror story at the hands of Oregon's law enforcement and justice system.
I am not questioning the court's verdict, but I will cut to the chase and say that publicizing this story gives future rape and sexual assault victims the wrong message. If the woman in question made the story up then she needs some kind of help, and media publicity is not likely it.
Coral's oppressors could not possibly have known that she would go on to write a book about her ordeal that would become an unofficial American PTSD survival guide, and I do believe that is a fair description, especially since the book has become very popular with Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan[2].
The point is that police investigations are not always unbiased, and they are subject to error. I know of a recent situation in Salem where a restaurant owner assaulted an employee out of sight of witnesses. The deputy assigned to the case immediately made the victim feel uncomfortable for reporting the crime, and never brought any charges against the assailant.
That's because our system is frequently out of whack.
Courtesy: anjuthomas.com
All crime victims roll the dice when they choose to call law enforcement in this country. Your level of service is basically dependent on how good of a day that particular tax funded servant is having. There is very little to expect in some cases.
And each negative story about police that the public hears, increases the reluctance of victims to involve the system. There is no area where victims are less likely to report crime than sexual assault.
A 1999 United States National Crime Victimization Survey shows that only 39% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police. A 2007 report from the UK indicated that between 75 and 95 per cent of rape crimes are never reported to the police
Does Media Focus on False Rape and Kidnapping Case Really Help Anyone?Salem-News.com