Waukesha - Waukesha County officials - from police and prosecutors to nurses and advocates for women - have announced a uniform sexual assault reporting protocol that aims to benefit both victims and law enforcement.
With multiple agencies coming together on how each is responsible for handling these cases, a good system becomes a much better one, officials said.
"This is a proactive step to make our community better," District Attorney Brad Schimel said. "Our goal is to know the truth, to do it expeditiously, but to do that in a way that is sensitive to victims."
Waukesha Memorial Hospital in 2007 created a team of 10 specially trained nurses on call day and night to help examine and treat victims of sexual assault with the care needed to preserve crucial evidence for court.
Two more nurses have since been added, program supervisor Elizabeth Huffman said.
Until then, most assault victims were stabilized at local hospitals but were then usually taken to Aurora Sinai Medical Center's Sexual Assault Treatment Center in Milwaukee. Sometimes the distance discouraged victims from following through, said Mary Hennis, director of counseling services for The Women's Center Inc. in Waukesha.
Despite the new program in Waukesha County, "Every agency kind of did things differently," Sheriff's Capt. Karen Ruff said.
And as law enforcement transported victims or stood by sometimes for hours to make sure evidence was preserved while a woman was examined at the hospital, resources were wasted, Ruff said.
In addition, sometimes a woman was fearful about reporting the assault, so evidence may not have been preserved at all.
Now, Ruff said, experience gained through the Waukesha Memorial Hospital corps of sexual assault nurse examiners, and confidence between agencies about how these cases are to be handled, means victims can be treated first and, when hesitant, they can decide later about reporting an assault. Evidence will be held for a period of time.
Sexual assault reporting protocols like the one now in Waukesha County are part of a national focus, said Debra Donovan, supervisor of the Sexual Assault Treatment Center at Aurora Sinai, who mentored the Waukesha County team.
Waukesha County's sexual assault reporting team is ahead of the Milwaukee program she's been involved with for 18 years, Donovan said.
Most police agencies in Milwaukee County, including the sheriff's office, have not joined the Milwaukee Police Department and district attorney in a formal relationship with the Aurora team, Donovan said. That program handles about 600 cases a year.
Joining in the Waukesha County team are ProHealth Care; The Women's Center; the Sheriff's Department, the district attorney; the C.A.R.E. Center, which serves child victims of sexual abuse; and the president of the county's Police Chiefs Association on behalf of other police departments in the county. Elmbrook Hospital and Community Memorial Hospital also are committed to the program, officials said.
Since Waukesha Memorial started its sexual assault nurse examiners program in 2007, they've examined 120 victims, including 16 this year, Huffman said. Research suggests that only 20% to 30% of assaults are reported.