Several states are considering proposals to refer more campus sexual assault cases to local law enforcement, and there’s one constituency in particular that is against it: sexual assault victims.
The proposals vary in their specifics, but bills drafted in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia all seek to increase the involvement city police have with campus rape reports.
And while lawmakers seem to be siding with student activists who have complained colleges are mishandling sexual assault cases, sexual assault advocates balk at the proposed legislative fixes, which would increase the role of the criminal justice system to get perpetrators off the street, because they say cops are just as bad at handling these cases.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) put forward a legislative proposal last week that, in addition to establishing affirmative consent as a statewide policy, would require that colleges make it clear to sexual assault victims they are able to report their rapes to city and state police in addition to their university. However, it wouldn’t require campus reports to be passed on to local law enforcement.
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“If a survivor comes forward and says, ‘Hey I need help, I want to get this guy out of my classes,’ that’s very different from saying, ‘I want to involve myself in a lengthy arduous legal process,'” said Ridolfi-Starr, who filed a complaint that prompted a federal investigation into how Columbia handles sexual assault cases.
Ridolfi-Starr pointed to testimony from other women in New York who said the NYPD inappropriately responded when they reported sexual assaults, or prosecutors who declined to take their cases. Aside from those cases, Ridolfi-Starr said she isn’t eager to refer more campus rape victims to the same agency responsible for the death of Eric Garner — an unarmed black man who was choked to death by an NYPD officer.
“Until law enforcement agencies improve their policies,” Ridolfi-Starr said, “it’s absolutely inappropriate to increase their authority or role in campus-based adjudication processes.”
