In March of 1993, using problem solving techniques and the SARA model, the Sex Crimes Unit began analyzing these crimes in an attempt to prevent them from occurring in the first place. The results were startling. Most stranger assaults are random, and although there is a definite high risk time of day, the victim has little control over whether or not the crime occurs.
Assaults committed by acquaintances on the other hand, are very different.
Unfortunately, law enforcement, the public and the media have continued to perpetuate the myth that most sexual assaults are committed by strangers. The San Diego Police Department acknowledges that prevention is directly related to education and accurate public information. As a result, the Sex Crimes Unit recruited volunteers to form a Speaker's Bureau . After the applicants were interviewed and selected, they completed a thirty hour training program. The Bureau is made up of a diverse group of people ranging from twenty to sixty-five years of age.