OFF THE WIRE
North County Times
MORGAN COOK mcook@nctimes.com
FBI to expand definition of rape to include more crimes......
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's recent decision to update its narrow definition of rape could correct what advocates have described as chronic undercounting of the crime in communities nationwide.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told a U.S. Senate panel on Dec. 14 that he would accept a recommendation to update the agency's definition of rape, according to a video of the hearing aired on C-SPAN. He said he expected the change to go into effect "sometime in the spring."
For about 80 years, the FBI has defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will," officials said.
Only sexual assaults that fit the narrow definition are counted as rape in the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reporting program ---- the crime data that policymakers and the public most often see.
"That definition was in some ways unworkable, certainly not applicable ---- fully applicable ---- to the types of crimes that it should cover," Mueller said of the definition during the senate hearing.
Under the existing definition, the FBI doesn't count as rape serious sexual assaults such as non-consensual sex with men, non-consensual sexual penetration with objects, and sex with people who cannot give legal consent, experts have said.
Those crimes may be included in rape tallies under the new definition, the text of which the FBI published on its website.
It is: "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."
Rape tallies may climb
Experts have said they expect the number of rapes reported in the FBI's annual crime statistics will climb after the new definition takes effect, because more types of sexual assault will qualify ---- not because more rapes are happening.
Many agencies, including local law enforcement agencies in North County, track and prosecute a wide range of sexual assaults, but the FBI does not count all of them as rape because it defines the crime more narrowly than state laws, officials said.
"The California Penal Code is pretty wide-ranging, compared to (the FBI's existing) definition," Lt. James Bolwerk of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.
The roughly 17,000 local law enforcement agencies that voluntarily report their crimes to the FBI each year are directed to classify crimes according to the FBI's definitions instead of legal statutes, which can vary widely between states, according to the FBI website.
The FBI then groups the crimes as either Part 1, for the most serious crimes, or Part 2, a category for lesser crimes.
County residents see mostly the Part 1 crimes, which appear in reports by the San Diego Association of Governments, the Automated Regional Justice Information System's online crime database and many news reports.
Scope of increase unknown
Nobody knows how many serious sexual assaults have gone uncounted because of the FBI's narrow definition of rape. The FBI has yet to release new reporting guidelines, so by how much the number of rapes will increase after the adjusted definition takes effect is unknown as well.
In 2009, the Escondido Police Department reported 42 sexual assaults that met the FBI's definition of rape, according to FBI records.
An additional 124 crimes reported by the Police Department in 2009 were classified by the FBI as sexual assaults in the Part 2 category, according to department's records.
The 124 crimes included 21 sexual batteries, 10 statutory rapes, two sodomy crimes, 43 lewd acts against children, five sexual acts with foreign objects, two sex registrant violations, 21 indecent exposures, three lewd acts, four "peeping" incidents and 12 child molestations.
The FBI will probably count some of the lesser crimes as rapes under the new definition, but which ones and how many will be unknown until the FBI releases new reporting guidelines, Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter said.
Carter and Bolwerk said their departments will continue to investigate, track and prosecute sexual assaults in accordance with the California Penal Code regardless of how the FBI defines them.
"As far as law enforcement is concerned, we won't be doing anything differently," Carter said.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told a U.S. Senate panel on Dec. 14 that he would accept a recommendation to update the agency's definition of rape, according to a video of the hearing aired on C-SPAN. He said he expected the change to go into effect "sometime in the spring."
For about 80 years, the FBI has defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will," officials said.
Only sexual assaults that fit the narrow definition are counted as rape in the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reporting program ---- the crime data that policymakers and the public most often see.
"That definition was in some ways unworkable, certainly not applicable ---- fully applicable ---- to the types of crimes that it should cover," Mueller said of the definition during the senate hearing.
Under the existing definition, the FBI doesn't count as rape serious sexual assaults such as non-consensual sex with men, non-consensual sexual penetration with objects, and sex with people who cannot give legal consent, experts have said.
Those crimes may be included in rape tallies under the new definition, the text of which the FBI published on its website.
It is: "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."
Rape tallies may climb
Experts have said they expect the number of rapes reported in the FBI's annual crime statistics will climb after the new definition takes effect, because more types of sexual assault will qualify ---- not because more rapes are happening.
Many agencies, including local law enforcement agencies in North County, track and prosecute a wide range of sexual assaults, but the FBI does not count all of them as rape because it defines the crime more narrowly than state laws, officials said.
"The California Penal Code is pretty wide-ranging, compared to (the FBI's existing) definition," Lt. James Bolwerk of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.
The roughly 17,000 local law enforcement agencies that voluntarily report their crimes to the FBI each year are directed to classify crimes according to the FBI's definitions instead of legal statutes, which can vary widely between states, according to the FBI website.
The FBI then groups the crimes as either Part 1, for the most serious crimes, or Part 2, a category for lesser crimes.
County residents see mostly the Part 1 crimes, which appear in reports by the San Diego Association of Governments, the Automated Regional Justice Information System's online crime database and many news reports.
Scope of increase unknown
Nobody knows how many serious sexual assaults have gone uncounted because of the FBI's narrow definition of rape. The FBI has yet to release new reporting guidelines, so by how much the number of rapes will increase after the adjusted definition takes effect is unknown as well.
In 2009, the Escondido Police Department reported 42 sexual assaults that met the FBI's definition of rape, according to FBI records.
An additional 124 crimes reported by the Police Department in 2009 were classified by the FBI as sexual assaults in the Part 2 category, according to department's records.
The 124 crimes included 21 sexual batteries, 10 statutory rapes, two sodomy crimes, 43 lewd acts against children, five sexual acts with foreign objects, two sex registrant violations, 21 indecent exposures, three lewd acts, four "peeping" incidents and 12 child molestations.
The FBI will probably count some of the lesser crimes as rapes under the new definition, but which ones and how many will be unknown until the FBI releases new reporting guidelines, Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter said.
Carter and Bolwerk said their departments will continue to investigate, track and prosecute sexual assaults in accordance with the California Penal Code regardless of how the FBI defines them.
"As far as law enforcement is concerned, we won't be doing anything differently," Carter said.
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/region-fbi-to-expand-definition-of-rape-to-include-more/article_e994cb9f-06cd-5c32-9199-b75eb84bca95.html#ixzz1iKERzJt6
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/region-fbi-to-expand-definition-of-rape-to-include-more/article_e994cb9f-06cd-5c32-9199-b75eb84bca95.html#ixzz1iKERzJt6