The Promise Initiative: Promoting a trauma-informed police response to sexual assault in a mid-size Southern community.

Abstract

A mixed-methods study details a multidisciplinary team's efforts to assess and transform police response to sexual assault in a mid-size community. A police department-wide survey (n = 331) determined baseline levels of officer exposure to trauma-informed training, rape myth acceptance, and awareness of community and nationwide sexual assault movements to understand officer attitudes towards factors influencing sexual assault investigations. These data, in conjunction with SAMHSA's (2012) trauma-informed assumptions, were leveraged to develop and adopt trauma-informed policies that would enhance the police department's response to sexual assault. At baseline, few officers reported receiving trauma-informed interviewing training (21.8%) or having knowledge of local SAK, #MeToo, or #TimesUp movements (10.0%, 7.2%, 3.9%, respectively). Chi-square analyses suggested officer knowledge of community SAK movement, personal investment in learning about sexual assault, and understanding of trauma were higher in officers with versus without training; of concern, officers with more sexual assaults on their caseload were more likely to endorse rape myths. Training understanding was related to lower rape myth acceptance. Policy changes, including adding trauma-informed training to the Police Academy, were implemented by the MDT to promote a system-wide trauma-informed approach to sexual assault and ensure community safety.