JULY 2013, VOLUME 3, NUMBER 6
 

IN THIS ISSUE 

The Science of Victimization 

The Homicide Review Process 

Announcements & Upcoming Events 

• Training opportunities 

• Funding opportunities 

News & Views 

• Reports 

• News 

• Other resources 

THE SCIENCE 

OF VICTIMIZATION 

When a sexual assault victim goes to the police, a 

chain of events is set in motion. There's the 

requisite medical exam and collection of forensic 

evidence. Then a formal report begins. None of 

this brings closure or consolation to the victim, as 

recounting the details of a traumatic incident can 

be nearly as horrifying and humiliating as the 

crime itself. When victims come forward following 

a personal and legal violation, their brains and 

bodies are locked in a complex neurobiological 

and physiological process. From the moment an 

assault begins, the mind triggers a severe 

hormonal response, leading victims to fight, flight, 

or even freeze—a phenomenon known as tonic 

immobility or "rape-induced paralysis." A flood of 

hormones rushes to the brain's memory 

structures, making it difficult to recount the event 

in logical, successive detail. Memories are slow 

and fragmented—sometimes they don't agree or 

make sense. Despite the time and effort it may 

take to tell the story, however, research shows 

only a very small percentage of reports are 

fabricated, and in fact, the memory and recall are 

accurate. 

A large part of law enforcement remains unaware 

THE HOMICIDE 

REVIEW PROCESS 

2011 Homicides and Nonfatal Shootings Report,

Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission 

Everyone in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention is 

concerned about violence of all kinds, from bullying and simple 

assault to domestic and sexual violence. But one crime most 

threatens our urban environments and frames our cities as 

dangerous places to live: homicide. The rise and fall of cities' 

murder rates cause inevitable hyperbole in the media and public. 

Although the impact is devastating to those immediately affected, 

it can also reverberate throughout the community, creating 

damaging effects on the local economy, sense of kinship, and city 

reputation. 

To turn homicide rates around in Wisconsin's largest city, 

Milwaukee established the Homicide Review Commission in 

2005. Six years earlier, Milwaukee saw its homicide rate rise. By 

2001, it was listed as one of the top 10 most dangerous U.S. 

cities. Then-Mayor Tom Barrett, the Milwaukee Police 

Department, and Milwaukee County District Attorney tasked a 

working group of criminal justice and public health decision 

makers with finding ways to address the problem. The working 

group developed a "unique strategy for reviewing homicide cases 

using problem-solving approaches that [sought] not only to solve 

homicides but also provide opportunities for prevention," said 

Senior Social Science Analyst John Markovic of the U.S. 

Department of Justice COPS Office. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of the neurobiology of trauma—one reason for 

high levels of attrition in sexual assault cases. 

When Rebecca Campbell, Ph.D., Professor of 

Psychology at Michigan State University, 

analyzed 12 years of data across six jurisdictions, 

she found 86 percent of reported sexual assaults 

never made it beyond the police interview room. 

Victims and law enforcement agree that in 69 

percent of cases reviewed, victims were 

discouraged from proceeding. In about 51 percent 

of cases, law enforcement advised victims that 

the crime perpetrated against them was not 

serious enough to pursue. Seventy percent of 

cases showed law enforcement questioned 

victims about their dress or behavior, implying 

they may have provoked the assault. On average, 

90 percent of victims experienced at least one 

secondary victimization behavior during their first 

report. 

"Most officers who have completed standard 

training come into a sexual assault interview or 

report incredibly skeptical about victims," said Dr. 

Campbell. "They've been trained [to believe] that 

many sex assaults are false and begin their 

investigation from that point of view—they treat 

victims like they're suspects. When you interview 

[within] the first 72 hours, the stories might have a 

lot of inconsistency, but every one of those stories 

could be explained by the neurobiology of trauma. 

Things come back in bits and pieces and there's 

clear scientific evidence why victims behave that 

way. What law enforcement is seeing is evidence 

of trauma." 

When interviewing a victim, many officers use the 

Reid technique, an interview strategy that 

combines investigative and behavior-provoking 

questions to assess the subject's credibility. The 

Reid method was specifically designed to hone in 

on behavioral cues and patterns in body language 

to reveal inconsistencies and determine faults in a 

victim's story. Rather than making victims feel 

comfortable and safe, the process heightens their 

stress, exacerbating the trauma and often leading 

them to drop the report entirely. 

"It's secondary victimization," said Dr. Campbell. 

"Victims withdraw as a self-protective mechanism, 

walking away from the criminal justice system." 

Although studies haven't focused extensively on 

how damaging such physiological responses can 

be for young people, there is solid research on 

adults who have experienced sexual assault as 

children and adolescents. Adolescents are at high 

risk for sexual assault, and sexually assaulted 

children have an increased risk of being 

victimized again later in life. Long-term structural 

changes occur in the brain, said Dr. Campbell at a 

National Institute of Justice Research for the 

Real World Seminar. "So structurally we know 

that the developing brain is adversely impacted 

Mallory O'Brien was a founding member of the Commission and 

serves as its director. With her background in violent injury 

prevention and experience applying public health approaches to 

solve problems, she was a natural fit for the job. According to 

O'Brien, the goal was to get “real-time information on homicides." 

Paper reports took too long and the information they contained 

was not as focused or comprehensive as it needed to be for an 

accurate depiction of city violence. The Commission was looking 

for specifics: event location, the identity of the victim, the weapon 

used, and what constituted the victim's environment. Since most 

homicide victims were known by law enforcement, engaged in 

risky behavior, or lived in high-risk environments, the Commission 

wanted background information. For example, did this person 

have an unprosecuted criminal case that may have provided an 

opportunity for effective intervention? To begin the prevention 

planning process they needed as much data as possible. 

The Commission began their work in three police districts. By 

starting small, they were able to use other districts as control 

groups to measure the impact of their efforts. In a recently 

published evaluation by Harvard University, the Commission 

achieved a 52 percent reduction in homicides. Since then, they 

have increased the scope of their efforts. They started out 

assessing domestic violence homicides, then they expanded their 

work to include domestic violence involving strangulation, where 

the assault that followed had a high likelihood of murder. Recently, 

they began looking specifically at juvenile homicides. 

With the public health model as a guiding principle, the 

Commission created subcommittees to look at prevention. The 

subcommittees comprise four groups: one on reentry, one 

focused on fatherhood, one that studies licensing premises where 

alcohol is served, and one centered on gun violence reduction. 

The Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission is not standing pat. 

They continue to translate data and knowledge into violence 

reduction efforts. Their subcommittees are evidence that the city 

is following through with one of its most important tenets, which 

according to O'Brien is “making sure the right people are in the 

room." As with the Forum members, they are turning to prevention 

as the best answer to violence, and hope to reach the tipping 

point where urban environments finally become safe. Only then 

will cities be in a position to break self-sustaining patterns of 

violence. 

New Orleans initiated the Mayor's Strategic Command to Reduce 

Murders based on the Milwaukee Homicide Review model. The 

effort is closely linked to Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s NOLA for Life 

murder reduction strategy, which has been helpful in gaining 

involvement from key agencies and individuals in the city. Chris 

Gunther, Forum site coordinator in New Orleans, says the 

program is in line with their effort to take up strategic planning 

using a public health approach. 

David Seal, Ph.D., of the Tulane University School of Public 

Health, is Director of Research for the Strategic Command (see 

his fall 2012 presentation to the Forum listening team). Dr. Seal 

shared that, much like Milwaukee, New Orleans' homicidereduction effort relies on the work of three Action Teams that 

report to the Executive Action Team under Mayor Landrieu's 

leadership. They are the Rapid Engagement of Support in the 

Event of Trauma, which deals with community outreach following 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by these traumas, and it does appear to, at the 

cellular level—structural level—be permanent." 

"The other issue is that the brain is a remarkably 

plastic thing," said Dr. Campbell. "So [for] a child 

or adolescent who experiences these crimes and 

then gets a good response ... the capacity to heal 

from that—structurally, functionally—I think is very 

good, but the research is not yet there." 

The ultimate goal of lowering sexual assault case 

attrition will require much training and retraining— 

for first responders, police officers, nurses, 

medical examiners, and detectives. Dr. Campbell 

has found that law enforcement is responding 

positively to the education. "What I'm seeing 

nationally is that there's training on sexual assault 

for law enforcement and they're going for it in 

large numbers," she said. 

Dr. Campbell starts with the basics: diagrams of 

what happens to the brain when trying to recall a 

traumatic event. She walks officers through the 

process, showing them the science behind it. 

“They recognize the symptoms," she said. 

"Instead of thinking [the symptoms are] indicative 

of lying, they realize they're indicative of trauma. 

In Detroit, where a number of sexual assault kits 

remain untested, Dr. Campbell is training 

practitioners. She also trains city-area advocates 

and medical staff, with the goal to facilitate 

widespread understanding of victims' behavior. 

Having done extensive research and training on 

the science of trauma, Dr. Campbell knows it's 

really just a matter of practice. "When law 

enforcement uses these basic principles and sees 

how well it works, [the science] sells itself." 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

& UPCOMING EVENTS
 

Training Opportunities 

At 2 p.m. on August 7, 2013, the Office of 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's 

National Girls Institute will host the Webinar "A 

Trauma Informed Effective Reinforcement 

System for Girls." Presentations will review this 

female-responsive, research-based model, which 

offers short-term detention and residential 

programs as alternatives to compliance-focused 

behavior management systems. 

Register and learn more. 

Applications are open for Georgetown 

a murder; Community Action Team (service provider 

organizations); and Criminal Justice Action Team (law 

enforcement). The teams meet regularly to review data related to 

murders and nonfatal shootings and make recommendations to 

reduce shootings. 

The Action Teams have generated more than 80 "action items"— 

about two thirds of which are in process. Homicide reduction is a 

top priority for Mayor Landrieu. It's also a crucial part of the 

violence-reduction effort in Forum cities Detroit and Chicago, 

which received federally sponsored training and technical 

assistance in the homicide review process. 

Understanding the circumstances that lead to homicide in our 

cities gives us the power to bring about real and lasting change. 

Milwaukee, New Orleans, Detroit, and Chicago are using what 

they know to repair and improve the safety, health, and happiness 

of their citizens. It's testimony to an age-old adage: knowledge 

really is power. 

NEWS 

& VIEWS 

Reports 

HHS/CDC Finds Youth Homicide Reached 30-Year Low in 

2010 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and 

Mortality Weekly Report, 2013 

Murder rates among children, teens, and young adults hit a 30-

year-low in 2010, according to a new report from the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention. After a sharp rise in the late 80s 

and early 90s, homicide rates for 10- to 24-year-olds have fallen. 

But murder still ranks in the top three causes of death for young 

people. Primary prevention strategies—including those that 

engage high-risk youth—for schools, families, and neighborhoods 

—remain crucial. 

Indicators of School Crime and Safety 

U.S. Department of Education, 2012 

Published by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice 

Statistics and Department of Education's National Center for 

Education Statistics, this report examines crime on the way to 

and from school and at school, with data from the perspectives of 

students, teachers, and principals. In 2011, students ages 12–18 

were victims of about 1,246,000 nonfatal victimizations at school, 

including 648,600 thefts and 597,500 violent incidents. Ten 

percent of male students in grades 9–12 reported being 

threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, 

compared with 5 percent of female students. 

Progress Report on the President's Executive Actions to

Reduce Gun Violence 

The White House, 2013 

The Obama Administration released a progress report on 21 of 

23 executive actions proposed in January to reduce gun violence, 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

University's Center for Juvenile Justice 

Information Sharing Certificate Program, 

December 9–12, 2013, in Washington, D.C. The 

program will help juvenile justice and other childserving professionals increase their informationsharing knowledge, develop action plans for 

reform, and access technical assistance to 

overcome barriers when implementing reforms. 

Apply by September 6, 2013. 

The National Council of Juvenile and Family 

Court Judges is accepting applications for its 

School Pathways to the Juvenile Justice System 

Project. The Council will select up to 16 court 

jurisdictions seeking to reduce or eliminate the 

"school-to-prison pipeline." They will provide 

training and technical assistance to reduce 

referrals of youth to juvenile courts for school 

misbehavior, encourage positive school 

disciplinary practices, engage students, and keep 

youth in school. Applications are due September 

15, 2013. 

Global Youth Justice will host its 8th Training 

Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 3–5, 

2013. Topics include training youth and adult 

volunteers, delivering quality community services 

and programs, conducting mock family intake 

meetings, juvenile referral sources, grant writing, 

and funding opportunities. 

Funding Opportunity 

The Administration for Children and Families' 

Family and Youth Services Bureau is funding 

Runaway and Homeless Youth Capacity

Building for LGBTQ Youth Populations to 

expand the capacity of transitional living 

programs serving homeless lesbian, gay, 

bisexual, transgender, and/or questioning 

(LGBTQ) youth, and support knowledge 

development to address this population's needs. 

Applications are due by August 13, 2013. 

Contact Us 

Send questions or feedback about the newsletter to 

NFYVP@dsgonline.com or subscribe. 

including guides to develop high-quality emergency operations 

plans for K–12 schools, institutions of higher education, and 

houses of worship. 

State–Local Partnership in Ohio Cuts Juvenile Recidivism,

Costs 

The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2013 

In 1994, RECLAIM Ohio initiated a performance-based funding 

partnership between the state and local governments that 

expanded counties' use of community-based alternatives to 

incarceration in overcrowded, expensive state facilities for lowerrisk youth. The program has reduced recidivism rates and saved 

Ohio millions of dollars. 

Bending the Curve: Juvenile Corrections Reform in Texas 

The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2013 

Texas has repaired its juvenile corrections system over the past 6 

years with a series of reforms that significantly reduced the 

number of youth in secure state facilities and increased public 

safety. 

News 

Boston Foundation Invests in Summer Youth Programs 

The Boston Foundation is investing more than $600,000 to fund 

summer programs in and around the city this year. Funds will 

provide critically needed jobs and opportunities for youth to build 

skills, retain learning, and gain employment during the summer 

months. The investment includes more than $325,000 in grants 

for “My Summer in the City," a network of nearly 30 programs 

providing activities and summer jobs for Boston youth. An 

interactive, regularly updated calendar of My Summer in the City 

programs and events can be found on the Boston Foundation 

Web site. 

Good News: Youth Employment Slows Violence. Bad News:

Youth Unemployment Is Spiking 

Researchers at Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market 

Studies found that low-income Boston teenagers with summer

jobs are less likely to engage in violence and drug and

alcohol use. However, the number of working young people has 

dropped rapidly over the past 10 years. 

Other Resources 

The 2013 KIDS COUNT Data Book provides state and national 

data on 16 indicators of child well-being across four domains: 

economics, education, health, and family and community. 

Children have continued to progress in the education and health 

domains, despite growing poverty rates. 

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Newsletter 

is prepared under Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention (OJJDP) Cooperative Agreement No. 2012–MU– 

FX–K009 with Development Services Group, Inc. 

The views, opinions, and content of this newsletter are those 

of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views, 

opinions, or policies of OJJDP.