A law enforcement work group has recommended several measures to improve police training on sexual assaults in Minnesota, including specialized courses for patrol officers and investigators as well as their supervisors. Police leaders and administrators, the group said, need to understand why high-quality sexual assault investigations "should be prioritized."
The recommendations are the first to emerge from three groups working to improve law enforcement's response to sexual assaults and prepare recommendations for the 2019 Legislature. They were presented Wednesday to the training committee of the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which licenses and oversees more than 12,000 sworn peace officers in the state.
Gov. Mark Dayton directed the police board to draft improved training and investigation guidelines in the wake of a Star Tribune series that documented chronic breakdowns in rape investigations. Only 8 percent of the sexual assaults or rapes reported in Minnesota result in a conviction, the newspaper found.
The group's report contains no deadlines or mandates and few specifics, but POST Board Executive Director Nate Gove applauded it as a good first step toward changing the police culture that has played into the documented failures in investigations.
"I'm encouraged by it because I think it sets the stage for more thoughtful research and recommendations that have a chance of really impacting the problems … and having success at the Legislature," Gove told committee members.
Among the preliminary recommendations presented Wednesday:
• A field guide for police officers responding to sexual assaults.
• Specialized training tailored to an officer's role, with more advanced courses for investigators.