The Virginia State Crime Commission debated a bill yesterday proposed by former Del. Paula Miller, D-Norfolk, which would transfer the leadership of sexual assault cases on college campuses from university police to local or state police.
The commission presented its evaluation of the bill, which was introduced in January 2011, to its members, inviting members of the public to voice their opinions.
Twelve people, including former University student Kathryn Russell, whose 2004 alleged rape led to the proposal of the bill, spoke on behalf of the proposed legislation.
Commission members suggested that the commission update the bill to include language requiring greater collaboration between campus police and local police officials.
The bill would require university police to notify the commonwealth's attorney within 24 hours of a sexual assault complaint and mandates the collaboration of university police and local police, Miller said.
"There's accountability," she said. "There's a collaborative approach. It's not saying 'my investigation' versus 'yours.'"
But police officials say sexual assault investigations are often hindered by inadequate budgets, rather than poor investigation procedures.
"Everything that we deal with in law enforcement today has to do with how do we fund it," Charlottesville Police Lt. Ronnie Roberts said. "I'm not a legislator but as a police officer for my entire career, I have a great working relationship with police officers at U.Va. ... they're all dedicated to doing their job and they do it well."
Miller said the bill is not a reflection of the inability of campus police officers to investigate sexual assault cases. Instead, it grew out of a concern that there is a conflict of interest in police investigations on college campuses, as university police are held directly accountable to the administration.
"Sometimes universities don't want all of the dirty details aired on the outside, because it reflects badly on the university," she said.
Gil Harrington, mother of slain Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, spoke at yesterday's hearing to voice her support of the bill. She urged for greater standardization of investigation procedure, regardless of where the crime occurs.
Harrington also noted that sexual assault crimes should be handled by the criminal justice system, as opposed to university administrators.
"For rape, for instance, campus police are required to report back to authorities at the university, not to the commonwealth's attorney," she said in an interview. "That's counterintuitive. If it's a felony, it's a felony."
The commission will vote on the adapted policy proposal at its next meeting Dec. 6.
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