Ask New Orleans to stop covering up rape cases as insignificant crimes!

  • by: SUE LEE
  • recipient: New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux and NOPD

Please sign and share this petition on all your media sites nationwide in an effort to speak loud and clear to the New Orleans law administration; stop treating the act of rape by a rapists as a minor, insignificant crime! An audit by the inspector general showed that at least half of the rape cases throughout the city were classified as minor offenses with minimal accountability.

Since some offenses like rape cases are swept under the rug and treated with minimal consequences, people often get the impression that New Orleans is a lawful, safe city. However, rapes are a common occurrence that is covered up as insignificant crimes. Not only does this jeopardize more victims, with numerous rapists roaming the streets, these criminals continue to offend those they abuse. After all, why would any sex offender want to be a good law abiding citizen when the fact is that the rape they commit meets with a minor "slap on the wrist."

The New Orleans inspector general performed an audit that made finding of nearly half of the rape cases studied had been incorrectly classified as lesser crimes, making the city appear to be safer than it actually was. After reviewing 90 cases, it was found that 41 of those cases had been misclassified, and not reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program. The biggest concern was that the New Orleans Police Department automatically classified potential sexual assaults as a “miscellaneous incident” or “Signal 21X."

The Inspector General's office is recommending that officials get rid of the miscellaneous category and report all rapes as the crimes that they are, RAPE! A former federal prosecutor, Ms. Tetlow stated that “I think it’s unlikely that New Orleans has a lower rate of rape than those other cities. I think that it shows that we still have a problem with reporting, and investigation. Before the new administration, rape was effectively decriminalized in the city.”

Additionally, she added “There was so little investigation going on, there was so much labeling everything miscellaneous, and not investigating it. I think what this report shows is we still have a long way to go.”     “There was a culture where detectives tried to disprove rapes, where somehow what they were supposed to do was make the statistic go away. And that is changing, but all to gradually." The NOPD needs to classify these cases for what they are, rapes and make the offenders accountable for their actions; making it safer for New Orleans citizens!

Please sign and share this petition on all your media sites nationwide in an effort to speak loud and clear to the New Orleans law administration; stop treating the act of rape by a rapists as a minor, insignificant crime! An audit by the inspector general showed that at least half of the rape cases throughout the city were classified as minor offenses with minimal accountability. Let's make a statement through this petition so that abusers are charged for rape and punished accordingly.

 

New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux  and NOPD - Stop minimizing the actions of rapists and letting them get away with their crimes. Rape is a serious crime that jeopardizes the lives of your citizens throughout New Orleans. By treating such a crime as a miscellaneous, minor offense, you are not only putting people's lives in danger, you will never rehabilitate those who are guilty of such unlawful acts. Stop covering up acts of rape; charge the rapists and punish them accordingly.

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