How FSU’s Police Force Responds to Gender Based Violence

According to Chief Smith of the University Police, when a victim reports their experience: “the investigation is referred to the Combined County Criminal Investigation Unit (C3I).  Investigators from C3I are charged with investigation of all serious crimes in Allegany County.”

The investigation of a sexual assault is a difficult process, and C3I employs investigators that “are trained in trauma informed investigation and interview techniques and investigation of sexual assault,” according to Chief Smith. The investigating officer’s position is to maintain an unbiased position in order to collect all of the facts in their fullest and truest form. Although the investigations are handled by C3I, Frostburg State University Police remains crucial for creating a safe environment to find justice for the victim.

“Our goal is to support the victim as much as possible while maintaining our role as independent and impartial finder of facts,” Chief Smith explained.

While C3I investigates the attacker and legitimacy of the complaint, the main goals of the University Police when they receive the initial call, according to Chief Smith, are to “assure the immediate safety of the victim and preserve any evidence.”

Chief Smith explained that, while victims of sexual assault can, of course, be of any gender, victims are typically women. After it is ensured that the victim is safe and the evidence is collected, the next prerogative of the responding officer is to provide information and support for the victim so that they possess the proper knowledge to determine what criminal or administrative investigations to pursue.

Under the University System of Maryland and state law, University Police are required to report cases of sexual assault to the Title IX Coordinator. At Frostburg, this title was newly assigned to Emily Caputo.

If the victim decides to file charges for the violation of Criminal Code or University Policy, the University police will address what interim measures to execute in order to protect the victim before the official ruling and punishment have been served. Chief Smith said that a victim has a choice to file official charges and “can choose to seek all of this, some of this or with certain constraints none of this.”

After determining what legal actions the victim wishes to take, the responding officer begins to address the victim’s long term health. Officers encourage the victim to seek professional medical attention at the hospital, including STD testing. The police provide transportation to the hospital as well as a connection to the Family Crisis Resource Center if it is desired.

“Our first priority in assisting a victim of sexual assault is to encourage the victim to seek medical and psychological care and support,” Chief Smith said. “Sexual Assault is a violent act that can and often does have long term impact.  We know that it is important to engage a victim with appropriate support services as soon as possible to mitigate the negative effects to the extent possible.”

The University Police also offers the potential of what is called a “Jane Doe report:” this type of report allows evidence to be collected without an official complaint. In this case, a victim does not press charges, but has the ability to do so with evidence later if chosen.

While the average time frame for reporting sexual assaults on higher education is 11.3 months, recent reports at Frostburg have not followed this trend. “There is no typical time frame,” Chief Smith explained. “Reports come to us anywhere from within hours of the assault to years after.  From an investigative and successful prosecution standpoint the earlier we receive the report the better.  We know that there are many reasons why a victim may not report for years.”

When asked what the community and student body of Frostburg can do to decrease the problem of sexual assault she replied with the following:

“Let’s face it, sexual assault has been around for a long time: this is a social issue.  Open and honest discussion is a step in the right direction.  So often we view this as a women’s issue; we need to do a better job of engaging men.  It’s a small percentage of men who commit sexual assault, so we need to get the larger percentage of men to step up and say this is wrong.

“Students need to believe and support their friends who have been sexually assaulted.  Often the perpetrator is the nice guy with the engaging personality; others find it hard to believe he could sexually assault someone. But in the vast majority of cases, if the victim makes a report, something bad happened.

“Talk about consent.  Understand what it is.  Both parties must affirmatively consent to sexual activity each time that they engage in it.  Consent once does not apply in the future.  Understand that alcohol consumption will affect your ability to give and receive informed consent.  The first thing affected by alcohol is judgment.”