Human Rights Watch needs to investigate faulty sexual assault report

IN JANUARY, Human Rights Watch released a 197-page report that painted a disturbing picture of how the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) handles sexual assault crimes. Now that report is itself the subject of a disturbing review.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), best known for its inquiries into the abuses of autocratic states around the world, accused the D.C. police department of dropping cases and mistreating victims. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier vehemently disputed the findings of the report, titled “Capitol Offense: Police Mishandling of Sexual Assault Cases in the District of Columbia.” D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), chairman of the committee with oversight over police, wisely enlisted the law firm Crowell & Moring to provide an objective, third-party review.

The verdict, as The Post’s Peter Hermann reported, generally supported Ms. Lanier’s objections: The HRW report was flawed and not an accurate reflection of the situation in the District. “The bottom line,” investigators for the law firm wrote, “is that HRW’s allegation that MPD failed to document and investigate reports made to MPD by victims of sexual assault is not accurate.” The law firm investigators, including two former prosecutors, found that the original report overemphasized a few cases and omitted facts (some favorable to police) to buttress its chilling portrayal of police practices and policies. “We do not doubt the victims’ accounts in the HRW report. But, we also found that the Report does not tell the whole story, nor does it paint an accurate picture of MPD’s treatment of most sexual assault victims,” investigators wrote.


(2013-07-01/washingtonpost)