Led by law enforcement professionals working in partnership with victim advocates and experts in the field of sexual assault response and prevention, the aim of the You Have Options Program (YHOP) is to make the law enforcement response to sexual assault more effective. This presentation is from the National Center for Campus Public Safety’s (NCCPS) webinar, You Have Options: An Overview of the National Law Enforcement Sexual Assault Reporting Program. In this webinar, Detective Carrie Hull, YHOP program director, and Christia Currie, training and information specialist, discuss the 20 Elements of the YHOP, as well as the implementation process for participating law enforcement agencies, including sworn campus law enforcement agencies.

2. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
YOU HAVE OPTIONS:
An Overview of the National Law Enforcement
Sexual Assault Reporting Program
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3. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
What is YHOP?
You Have Options is a program developed
to improve the criminal justice response to
sexual assault. This response is led by law
enforcement professionals working in
partnership with advocacy and experts in
the field of sexual assault response and
prevention.
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4. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Goals of the Program
1. Increase sexual assault reporting by
eliminating as many barriers to reporting
as possible.
2. Increase identification and prosecution of
sexual offenders.
3. Decrease sexual assault victimization.
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5. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Uniform Response
When legally permissible, each law
enforcement agency participating in the
program offers the same survivor-centered
protocols as outlined in the 20 Elements of
a Victim-Centered and Offender-Focused
You Have Options Program Law
Enforcement Response.
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6. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
National Program
Law enforcement agencies work together
across jurisdictions to offer the same
options for reporting to victims of sexual
assault.
Currently, three states with fully
implemented national YHOP law
enforcement agencies:
– Oregon, Colorado and Washington
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7. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
National Reporting Website
www.ReportingOptions.org
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8. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Online Reporting Form
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9. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
How to Join the Program
Law enforcement agencies have personnel
attend a YHOP Introductory Session and
can then begin Implementation Phase:
• 7 Phases
• Climate Survey’s
• Community Check-In’s
• YHOP Element’s Included in Policy
• MOU Signed
• Agency Specific Website Page
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10. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Traditional Response
Law enforcement responses for most cases
are made on assumptions:
• The victim wants law enforcement involved.
• The victim wants the suspect caught and
prosecuted.
• False or misleading information at any point of the
investigation from the victim indicates a false report.
• Uniform approach works on all types of crimes.
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11. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Traditional Response
Traditional criminal justice response to a
victim:
“We’re going forward in the manner that works
best for the criminal justice process.”
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12. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Impact of a Traditional Response
• Barriers to reporting keep the majority of sexual
assault victims from seeking assistance through
the criminal justice system.
• Law enforcement rarely receives the information
necessary to hold sexual offenders accountable.
• Offenders go on to victimize additional persons.
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13. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Impact of a Traditional Response
May increase instances of:
• Victims omitting information
• Victims not continuing with the investigation
• Victims providing false information
• Victim saying the assault did not happen to
disengage from the process
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14. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Changing the Response
Any change in the way law enforcement
responds and investigates sexual violence
needed to be beneficial to both law
enforcement and the victim to be
successful.
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15. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Changing the Response
The focus should not be on, “She/he came
forward and didn’t give us everything.”
The focus should be on being
grateful she/he came forward
and gave us anything.
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16. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Questions?
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17. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Barriers to Reporting
Top three barriers identified by victims
during the development of YHOP:
• Confidentiality
• Fear of not being believed
• Delayed report
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18. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
True Collaboration
• Law Enforcement and victims move past
barriers to reporting and both gain
something from the process.
§ Law Enforcement: Information
§ Victim: Belief – Anonymity – Control
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19. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Victim-Centered Response
All participating agencies believe in
providing victims of sexual assault with as
much control over their report and any
subsequent criminal investigation as the law
allows.
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20. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Why a Victim-Centered Response?
• Provides investigators with information they
would otherwise never have had access to.
• Investigators receive more accurate
information.
• Victims are more willing to identify their
assailant.
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21. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Why a Victim-Centered Response?
• Victims participate more completely within
the investigative and judicial process.
• Victims are more likely to report a positive
experience with law enforcement regardless of
the judicial outcome.
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22. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
INCREASED
REPORTING
VICTIM-
CENTERED
RESPONSE
IDENTIFIED
SEXUAL
OFFENDERS
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23. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
How YHOP Measures Success
• Increased Reporting
• Increased Trust
• Increased Identification of Offenders
• Increased Empathy
• Increased Victim Satisfaction with the Law
Enforcement Response
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24. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Questions?
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25. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
20 Elements of a YHOP Response
Unless legally mandated or in other rare
circumstances, the following victim-
centered and offender-focused options are
offered during every sexual assault report
and/or investigation at all You Have Options
Program Law Enforcement Agencies:
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26. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 1
A victim of sexual assault is offered three
options for reporting; to include Information
Only, Partial Investigation and Complete
Investigation.
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27. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 2
Sexual assault information received from
any of the reporting options shall be
documented in written form and retained in
a way that best preserves a victim’s options
and supports retrieval at a later date to aid
in identifying serial sexual perpetration.
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28. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 3
A victim or other reporting party may have
questions answered regarding their options
for reporting and/or a criminal investigation
prior to providing any identifying or incident
information to law enforcement.
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29. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 4
A clear explanation of the reporting process
and/or investigative procedures will be
provided by a law enforcement officer if
requested by the victim.
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30. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 5
When making a report there is no
requirement to meet in person with a law
enforcement officer. For example, a victim
or other reporting party may report using an
online form or a victim may choose to have
a sexual assault advocate report on their
behalf.
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31. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 6
Reasonable efforts will be made to allow the
victim or other reporting party control over
the location, time and date where their initial
report is made to law enforcement.
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32. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 7
A victim or other reporting party may
provide as much, or as little, information as
they choose with no time limitations or
restrictions on when the information is given
to law enforcement.
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33. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 8
Law enforcement officers will offer every
person reporting assistance in locating
sexual assault advocacy services.
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34. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 9
A victim may be accompanied by a sexual
assault advocate or other appropriate
support person during all phases of the
reporting process and criminal investigation.
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35. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 10
A victim, or other reporting party, may end
an interview with law enforcement at any
time without having to provide a reason.
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36. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 11
After making a report, a victim or other
reporting party will not be pressured to
participate in a criminal investigation.
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37. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 12
Reasonable efforts will be made to meet the
needs of the victim and address any
barriers the victim faces in providing
information to law enforcement during the
interview process.
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38. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 13
Law enforcement officers will conduct
victim interviews in a trauma-informed
manner.
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39. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 14
Reasonable efforts will be made to meet the
needs of the victim and address any
barriers the victim faces in providing
information to law enforcement during the
investigation.
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40. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 15
A victim’s right to keep their assault
confidential will be respected. If legally
permissible, no person (outside of a law
enforcement agency) will be notified the
victim has reported without the victim’s
consent. This includes the interviewing of
identified witnesses and perpetrators.
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41. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 16
Investigators will utilize strategies to identify
and document serial sexual perpetration,
such as the Inquiry into Serial Sexual
Assault (ISSA).
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42. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 17
Investigators will collaborate with victims during
the investigative process and respect a victim’s
right to request certain investigative steps not be
conducted. Criminal investigations will be
conducted at a pace set by the victim, not the law
enforcement officer. Victims will be informed that
no case can proceed to arrest or referral to an
office of prosecution until the investigative process
is complete.
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43. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 18
A victim may disengage from a criminal
investigation at any time prior to an arrest
being made or the case being referred to an
office of prosecution. There is no
requirement that an explanation be given by
the victim to law enforcement.
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44. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 19
If legally permissible and probable cause
exists for a crime, no arrest or referral to an
office of prosecution will occur without the
consent of the victim. All You Have Options
Law Enforcement Agencies respect the
choice of every victim who reports a sexual
assault and understand that justice is not
the same for every person who is
victimized.
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45. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Element 20
Criminal investigations that do not result in
arrest or referral to an office of prosecution
will be classified as “inactive” unless found
baseless or false, allowing for the
investigation to be re-opened in the future
at a victim’s request and/or if additional
information is discovered.
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46. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Legal Mandates / Safety
In some circumstances You Have Options
Program Law Enforcement Agencies may
be legally mandated to continue an
investigation even when a victim does not
want to participate. Examples include
investigations involving domestic violence,
child abuse or where the reported victim is
still in physical danger.
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47. The National Center for Campus Public Safety
Questions?
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48. www.margolishealy.com
www.nccpsafety.org
info@nccpsafety.org
1.866.817.5817
www.bja.gov