APD publishes first annual sexual assault case review

The Austin Police Department has released its first annual review of cases investigated by the Sex Crimes Unit. The annual case review is one of several commitments APD has made as part of an ongoing, survivor-led effort to reform Austin’s sexual assault response system.

This initial case review focuses on cases the Sex Crimes Unit closed during 2021 and 2022. Once the reports have caught up to present day, subsequent annual case reviews will focus on one year at a time.

APD is implementing the annual review in response to recommendations from an external report by the Police Executive Research Forum. The effort was led by the Collective Sex Crimes Response Model Project, a working group involving APD, survivors and other community partners. CSCRM’s focus includes implementing the recommendations from the PERF report and pledges the city made when settling a recent lawsuit led by survivors whose cases were mishandled.

“The primary goal of the annual case review is to continuously improve the quality of service, professionalism, victim sensitivity, and investigative thoroughness,” Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a memo on March 7.

Davis emphasized that the review is not an audit, noting that the timing between case closures each year and each subsequent annual report means the fully implemented changes from each review will not be immediately visible.

The case review for 2021-2022 identifies several areas for improvement. These include various aspects of patrol officer training, a checklist for detectives investigating assaults, plus protocols for documenting communications with victims, suspects and witnesses. The department also aims to improve systems for evidentiary inventory and data collection.

Perhaps most notably, one priority identified in the review focuses on the appropriate application of offense codes and clearance statuses. This is an apparent shift from 2018 and 2019, when ProPublica reported that nearly one-third of Austin’s sexual assault cases had been improperly cleared, despite sufficient evidence to make an arrest. This recommendation also aims to ensure all investigative steps are completed thoroughly, with streamlined processes for verifying evidentiary inventory.

The final area for improvement in the review involves better clarifying expectations and standards for various aspects of sexual assault cases, including emergency communication, victim services and engagement with prosecutors.

Davis noted in the memo that such a comprehensive annual case review is precedent-setting.

“We hope our proactive approach and ongoing efforts to improve the experience and outcome for sexual assault survivors will serve as an example to other units and agencies throughout the nation,” she said.

It’s important to note that the annual case review is one component in a systemic shift in the way Austin and Travis County respond to reported assaults. Several of the needs highlighted in the PERF report were not budgetary, but arose from a system that was not survivor-focused or trauma-informed. While CSCRM has made significant progress in implementing these changes, these victories have been hard-fought.

APD did not respond to a request for comment.

A documentary profiling several of the survivors who sued the city premiered at SXSW last year. The film, “An Army of Women,” will be screened at the Alamo Drafthouse on April 1 and 3.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Resources for survivors can be found at SAFEAustin.org.

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