Tell the FBI: Rape is Rape!

Each year, the FBI fails to count hundreds of thousands of rapes in its Uniform Crime Report (UCR)—even missing many rapes that are reported to police. That’s because for over 80 years, the FBI has been using the same fundamentally flawed definition of “forcible” rape: “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” to track rape statistics in the UCR.

This excludes rapes involving forced anal sex and/or oral sex, vaginal or anal fisting, rape with an object (even if serious injuries result), rapes of men and transgender people and other injurious and degrading sexual assaults. Also, because the definition includes the word “forcibly,” police departments often interpret the rule (against UCR guidelines) as leaving out rapes of women with physical or mental disabilities and those who were unconscious or under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

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Police departments go to great lengths to look good on the UCR, the FBI’s comprehensive national crime report by which all U.S. police departments are judged, and federal funding is determined. Often this means interpreting “forcible rape” even more narrowly than the FBI does when classifying sexual crimes.

· Police departments across the country, notably Baltimore and Philadelphia, have been found to be juking the stats—coding legitimate rape cases as “unfounded” in order to make it appear that rape numbers have declined.

Without an accurate definition, we won't have accurate statistics about rape, and without accurate statistics, we will never have adequate funding for law enforcement to solve these crimes. A change in the definition of rape would lead to better law enforcement response and could thus reduce dramatically the incidence of rape.


http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-fbi-rape-is-rape?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=WqIorhKQzm_YTBMkzCDqM

Make sure that all rapes are counted. Sign this petition to tell FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General Eric Holder to update the overly narrow, outdated “forcible rape” definition.

Just disturbing, I had no idea...

PB

i was glad to see this petition. it has been an awfully quiet issue



Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.) a renowned expert in human aggression and the roots of violence and violent crime, and a West Point psychology professor says:

''The downturn in violent crime in the U.S. in the 1990s is very deceptive. Violent crime … is still about 5 times greater today, per capita, than it was in 1957.''

''Plus, a five-fold increase in per capita incarceration is holding down violent crime – we'd have to let 1.5 million convicted offenders go to get down to a 1970's-level incarceration rate.''

On Grossman's point, The National Institute of Justice Managing Adult Sex Offenders (1997) reported:

''The number of adults convicted annually of rape, child molestation, or other forms of sexual assault and sentenced to state prisons more than doubled between 1980 (8,000) and 1992 (19,100). In 1994, state prisons held 88,100 sex offenders compared to 20,500 in 1980.''

Noting the millions taking high-powered antidepressants like Prozac, Grossman observes, ''we medicate, incarcerate and police ourselves at rates never seen before.''

Yet, he says, the biggest factor for lower crime rates is that ''we are lying about the data.''

''The ''Crimestat'' program made cops accountable for bringing down crime ... When the NYPD police union went over the data the crime rates doubled in New York City if the proper classifications were applied.''

Other than murder (held down by medical technology), the pressure on the cop on the beat means ''police artificially 'bring crime down' and the root causes of the crime get off scott free, because we cook the books.''

Denver Police Lt. James D. Ponzi, a Regis University professor and author of ''Compstat Revealed,'' is quoted in ''The American Police Beat,'' May 2005:

''In 1998, Sharon Schieber was raped and murdered.'' The lawsuit her parents filed ''revealed the practice of downgrading sexual crimes. Compstat turned into ''Compscam'' as departments cooked the books to lower crime rates.''

Lt. Ponzi got ''e-mails from different departments all over the country regarding statistics being altered in their cities.'' Pomzi added:

''… the crime category that you want to lower in another category that is not counted by the National Incident Based Reporting System or is not in the public eye at that moment.''

''These 'lower' rape statistics don't reflect what is truly happening in sex related crimes.''

Just a few more examples:

''In 2004, the Policeman's Benevolent Association in New York City revealed officials were ''cooking the books'' to lower crime statistics.''

''Felonies were classified as misdemeanors, rapes were logged as ‘''inconclusive incidents.''

''Attempted murder in a drive-by-shooting where the victim is missed might be reclassified as ''criminal mischief.''

''LAPD reported a 28 percent drop in violent crime in 2005, the same year the department reclassified domestic assaults in which the victim suffered minor injuries or had no injuries.''

Since the FBI NIBRS counts only offense reports, not city charges, serious domestic violence – often tied to pornography use?is magically reduced by a city charge.

''On October 23, 2003, five New Orleans cops were fired for downgrading violent crime states.''

''On January 8, 2005, four members of the Broward County sheriff's command staff were fired. ''Sometimes a suspect would admit to dozens of crimes but only be charged with one.''

''In Atlanta, 22,000 crimes were left out of the crime reports. In New York, the crime rates doubled in a precinct when the proper classification was applied by the police union. The list goes on.''

''The cops try to do their job, but they are handcuffed by some feel-good administrators who will not back them on controversial issues.''

''Compstat relies on intimidation administrators will not investigate the numbers that make them look good.''

''Everyone is happy except the citizens who get nothing but a false sense of security about the safety of their cities.''

Concluded Lt. Pozi, ''In all my research, I didn't find any city where a chief was removed when the ''cookings'' came to light.''

http://www.whale.to/a/reisman5.html