patrick.net

“Blacks were found guilty upon mere accusation, with no substantive evidence offered, no adequate counsel granted, and no real attempt on the part of the courts to provide evenhanded justice.” — Jerrold Packard, American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow. Page 133

Overview

An investigational approach known as “victim-centered” has become widespread in recent years. Proponents of “victim-centered” investigations don’t use the words “complainant” or “accuser.” They only refer to “victims” and “survivors,” conclusory words that presume that a crime in fact did occur and serve to remove the presumption of innocence from the accused.

Proponents of this approach claim:

Investigators should hand “control of the process back to the victim” (p. 9) and even allow the complainant “to request certain investigative steps not be conducted” (p. 13) — Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services and Police Executive Research Forum
“Assume that all sexual assault cases are valid unless established otherwise by investigative findings.” (p. 23) — Human Rights Watch
“‘He said, she said’ becomes ‘He said, they said,'” meaning the investigator should seek out evidence that corroborates the statements of the accuser, but not the accused — Margolis Healy consulting firm
The most widespread types of victim-centered investigations are Start By Believing, Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI), and Trauma-Informed. More information:

White Paper: ‘Believe the Victim:’ The Transformation of Justice
Victim-centered investigations in the campus setting
Report of an Expert Panel: Victim-Centered Investigations Victimize the Innocent





Complaints to the Department of Justice

Since 2016, the Center for Prosecutor Integrity has filed four letters of complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its funding and promotion of victim-centered investigations:

June 6, 2016 letter to the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services regarding its guidance, Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence: A Roundtable Discussion.
February 1, 2018 letter to the Office of the Inspector General to investigate the DOJ’s abuse of taxpayer monies to support Start By Believing programs.
April 3, 2019 letter to Attorney General William Barr, including Exhibits A to H, to investigate the DOJ’s failure to provide a substantive response to CPI’s February 1, 2018 complaint.
May 20, 2019 letter to the Office for Victims of Crime regarding its sponsorship of an upcoming program on Law Enforcement Response: Approaching Your Work with a Trauma-Informed Lens
To date, CPI has not received a substantive response to any of these letters.

Petitions

July, 2018: Open Letter Regarding Inequitable Victim-Centered Practices
May, 2019: DOJ is Aggressively Promoting ‘Victim-Centered’ Investigations that Presume Guilt and Lead to Wrongful Convictions
Ongoing: ‘One of the worst days of my life:’ Stop Sham ‘Start By Believing’ Investigations