FBI Finally Votes to Expand Definition of Rape

[redqueen]

ensho posted this in GD. Thought it should also be here.

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The “Rape is Rape” campaign, demanding that all rapes be counted in the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR), took a huge step forward yesterday at a crucial meeting of law enforcement officials.

The Uniform Crime Report Subcommittee of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) voted unanimously to expand its definition of rape in the UCR. The vote came after many years of lobbying by groups such as the Women’s Law Project and the recent viral “Rape is Rape” campaign, started by the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. in partnership with Change.org–which resulted in nearly 140,000 emails to the FBI and the Department of Justice urging the change.

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The previous definition (unchanged since 1929) defined “forcible rape” as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will,” excluding victims of forced anal or oral sex, rape with an object, statutory rape and male rape.

The new definition–of “rape,” no longer “forcible rape”–defines the crime as “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” The FBI would maintain data on “forcible rape” only for research and comparison.

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http://www.truth-out.org/major-victory-rape-rape-campaign/1319134767

[seabeyond]

1. and if we can actually get police to report it to the fbi, instead of playing games to lower the #'s

Recently, in writing about pornography's link to rape, I exposed some of the phony stats used by a very passionate law professor, Glenn Reynolds, who wants more pornography – ummm – to reduce rape.

Now Reynolds and Northwestern law professor Anthony D'Amato's, ''Porn up, Rape down'' essay is cited by psychologists and therapists to ridicule the damage done to the wives and children of pornography addicts.

D'Amato says rape is down because ''pornography has become freely available to teenagers and adults.''

If (as the FBI claims) rape declined ''85 percent'' since 1970, dad must continue drooling (and such) over pornographic images of teens, incest, sadism and bestiality.

Tennessee law professor Reynolds, D'Amato and their ilk say ''the sharp rise in access to pornography accounts for the decline in rape.''

My earlier article cited the many faults in such jingoist zealotry.

Here are a few others.

U.S. News and World Report (April 24, 2000) said, ''facing political heat to cut crime in the city, investigators in the New York PPD's Sex Crime Unit sat on (thousands of) reports of rapes and other sexual assaults.''

One officer snarled; ''The way crime was solved was with an eraser.''

In 2000 even the FBI admitted that one district ''failed to report between 13,000 and 37,000 major crimes.''

''A 2000 Philadelphia Inquirer report found from 1997-1999, of 300,000 sex crime reports, thousands of rapes got relabeled ''investigation of persons'' or ''investigation, protection, and medical examination'' – non-crime codes.''

''This puts one in four rapes in a non-crime category.''

Lying sure reduces rape!

Other real men confirm additional cover-ups.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.) a renowned expert in human aggression and the roots of violence and violent crime, and a West Point psychology professor says:

''The downturn in violent crime in the U.S. in the 1990s is very deceptive. Violent crime … is still about 5 times greater today, per capita, than it was in 1957.''

''Plus, a five-fold increase in per capita incarceration is holding down violent crime – we'd have to let 1.5 million convicted offenders go to get down to a 1970's-level incarceration rate.''

On Grossman's point, The National Institute of Justice Managing Adult Sex Offenders (1997) reported:

''The number of adults convicted annually of rape, child molestation, or other forms of sexual assault and sentenced to state prisons more than doubled between 1980 (8,000) and 1992 (19,100). In 1994, state prisons held 88,100 sex offenders compared to 20,500 in 1980.''

Noting the millions taking high-powered antidepressants like Prozac, Grossman observes, ''we medicate, incarcerate and police ourselves at rates never seen before.''

Yet, he says, the biggest factor for lower crime rates is that ''we are lying about the data.''

''The ''Crimestat'' program made cops accountable for bringing down crime ... When the NYPD police union went over the data the crime rates doubled in New York City if the proper classifications were applied.''

Other than murder (held down by medical technology), the pressure on the cop on the beat means ''police artificially 'bring crime down' and the root causes of the crime get off scott free, because we cook the books.''

Denver Police Lt. James D. Ponzi, a Regis University professor and author of ''Compstat Revealed,'' is quoted in ''The American Police Beat,'' May 2005:

''In 1998, Sharon Schieber was raped and murdered.'' The lawsuit her parents filed ''revealed the practice of downgrading sexual crimes. Compstat turned into ''Compscam'' as departments cooked the books to lower crime rates.''

Lt. Ponzi got ''e-mails from different departments all over the country regarding statistics being altered in their cities.'' Pomzi added:

''… the crime category that you want to lower in another category that is not counted by the National Incident Based Reporting System or is not in the public eye at that moment.''

''These 'lower' rape statistics don't reflect what is truly happening in sex related crimes.''

Just a few more examples:

''In 2004, the Policeman's Benevolent Association in New York City revealed officials were ''cooking the books'' to lower crime statistics.''

''Felonies were classified as misdemeanors, rapes were logged as ‘''inconclusive incidents.''

''Attempted murder in a drive-by-shooting where the victim is missed might be reclassified as ''criminal mischief.''

''LAPD reported a 28 percent drop in violent crime in 2005, the same year the department reclassified domestic assaults in which the victim suffered minor injuries or had no injuries.''

Since the FBI NIBRS counts only offense reports, not city charges, serious domestic violence – often tied to pornography use?is magically reduced by a city charge.

''On October 23, 2003, five New Orleans cops were fired for downgrading violent crime states.''

''On January 8, 2005, four members of the Broward County sheriff's command staff were fired. ''Sometimes a suspect would admit to dozens of crimes but only be charged with one.''

''In Atlanta, 22,000 crimes were left out of the crime reports. In New York, the crime rates doubled in a precinct when the proper classification was applied by the police union. The list goes on.''

''The cops try to do their job, but they are handcuffed by some feel-good administrators who will not back them on controversial issues.''

''Compstat relies on intimidation administrators will not investigate the numbers that make them look good.''

''Everyone is happy except the citizens who get nothing but a false sense of security about the safety of their cities.''

Concluded Lt. Pozi, ''In all my research, I didn't find any city where a chief was removed when the ''cookings'' came to light.''

So much for lawyerly fantasies of pornography reducing rape.

Our deepest gratitude to real men like Lt. Ponzi, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and their colleagues – real men, still guarding women, children and our nation.
http://www.whale.to/a/reisman5.html