DOJ report sees 'undue skepticism' of rape claims by Baltimore police
Statements by Baltimore police detectives suggest an “undue skepticism” of sexual assault claims, according to last week’s Justice Department report on unconstitutional police practices there.
The report said the police response to sexual assaults in the city was “grossly inadequate,” raising serious concerns about gender bias in the department’s treatment of victims. The Washington Post (sub. req.) and the New York Times have stories.
More than half of Baltimore Police Department’s rape cases linger in “open” status for years at a time with little or no follow-up, while fewer than one in four investigations are closed due to the arrest of a suspect, according to the report. Detectives request testing of rape kits in fewer than one in five of adult sex-assault cases.
Keeping so many cases open reduces the rate of rape cases closed as “unfounded,” according to the report.
Sex-crimes detectives often question victims in a way that blames them for the assault or makes them feel responsible for the impact on the perpetrator, the report found. An example is a detective’s question: “Why are you messing that guy’s life up?”
The report cited email correspondence between an officer and a prosecutor that revealed the contempt for a woman making a rape report. “This case is crazy,” the prosecutor wrote. “I am not excited about charging it. This victim seems like a conniving little whore.”
The police officer replied, “Lmao! I feel the same.”
