Between 80% and 90%! That’s how many sexual assault cases did NOT result in arrest, according to a recent study of Chicago Police Department’s clearance rates. This big problem disproportionately impacts Black people, but it also exposes a major falsehood.
Police departments aren’t prioritizing and preventing sexual assault like many imagine they are. They’re regularly ignoring the issue and it’s evidenced by untested rape evidence, low clearance rates, and the fact officers COMMIT these crimes too!
It’s also not just about arrests.
If policing and prisons addressed the issue, the U.S. would have everything it needs. In a country where arrests are made every few seconds, and that leads the world in incarceration rates, why do these problems persist?
The answer is more complicated than it seems.
Policing and mass incarceration are forms of anti-Black violence themselves that are rooted in white supremacy. Societal issues are not being punished away. Funding is poured into policing while education, housing, healthcare, and more suffer.
There’s an answer to this issue.
Police are not experts on solving the problems they’re tasked with, so we are tasked with thinking through alternatives to police violence. We can identify which people and resources are best equipped to respond, and make sure they have the tools they need!