Last year 890 Mississippi citizens reported being forcibly raped, according to statistics gathered by the FBI.
In the past 20 years, reports of forcible rape in Mississippi have fluctuated, according to FBI statistics.
In 1980, there were 24 reported rape attacks out of every 10,000 citizens. The statistic peaked in 1991, when the number peaked at 46.3 forcible rapes out of every 10,000 citizens. In contrast, the 2008 statistics show 30.3 out of every 10,000 citizens reported being raped.
Starkville Police Department detective Chadd Garnett said advances in technology have made it easier to catch and convict criminals.
“There is a computer program called CODIS that allows you to enter unknown DNA and then enter any known DNA, and the computer system can match them up,” he said.
He said in order to use this technology to its full advantage, the first step is to collect key evidence.
“We ask them to go to the hospital where they have a sexual assault kit and evidence can be collected,” he said. “Multiple swabs for DNA testing are taken and sent directly to the crime lab.”
Even with new technology, he said the length of time it takes to get DNA results back makes it impossible to take the DNA of every person who is arrested and enter it into the database.
“In the future that may be a possibility,” he said.
MSU Police Chief Georgia Lindley said the university takes every precaution to ensure student safety. In recent years, MSU has added lights and emergency phones across the campus.
“We actually have a lighting committee that rides around and makes recommendations,” she said. “The MSU Police Department does an annual customer service survey, and although we are not in charge of lighting, we get many comments and suggestions we share with the lighting committee.”
She also said the Bully Patrol was implemented four years ago to provide escorts from building to building and report suspicious people or incidents to the police at night.
Lindley said as soon as a person reports being raped, they are immediately transported to the hospital for a rape examination, which is necessary for court. Then MSU’s Sexual Assault Response Team is called and a member of the counseling staff speaks with the victim and a detective interviews him or her.
“If she [or he] knows her [or his] assailant, that makes our investigation somewhat easier,” Lindley said. “If [the victim] doesn’t know, then we have to look into many areas depending on how the attack occurred.”
Garnett said victims often shower or change clothes before reporting a rape. This presents a major hindrance and can affect the outcome of a case.
“The best evidence will be on the victim, and if they change clothes or take a bath, we lose the most important evidence,” he said.
Dr. Beatrice Tatem, MSU director of Student Counseling Services, has counseled many rape victims and said the need to “feel clean” after a sexual violation is common.
“When I work with those that have been victimized, often times the psychological [state] affects the physical [state] and vice versa – if they feel clean physically for the time, they feel clean psychologically,” she said.
Tatem said she also questions if the sexual assault rates have really gone down or if they are just being reported differently.
“I think that the fear of being exposed factors into victims not wanting to initially report a rape,” she said. “Many times, there is concern about what others might think in terms of their character.”
Garnett said the interviewing process in a rape case is the most difficult part for him because the victim is already fragile and afraid.
“It’s one of the hardest interviews that I do, especially being a male detective, because the victim has often been violated by a man,” he said. “I have to ask tough questions and collect as much information as possible while being as sensitive as possible.”
Garnett said the interviewing process can often make a victim feel like the police are questioning the authenticity of their claim, but that is not the case.
“Once a victim begins the interview process, she or he needs to understand that the police officer interviewing him or her has a reason for every question that they ask,” Garnett said. “They realize you’re upset, but the sooner they get the information, the sooner they get the case taken care of.”
Lindley said the Sexual Assault Response Team is one of the biggest improvements to how rape cases are handled on campus.
“This team provides counseling and support for the victim and they will even sit with her through a trial if necessary,” she said. “DNA can now positively identify assailants. That was not available 20 years ago.”