JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- A sexual assault task force has formed in Johnson City in an effort to improve services for victims.
The idea for the panel came from a conversation between police Chief Mark Sirois and resident Ruth Read, who created Women Matter Northeast Tennessee last year in an unsuccessful effort to fight an abortion amendment. Read and members of Women Matter were looking for another issue to focus on, which led to discussions with Sirois about untested rape kits that the department has stored.
After three meetings, "we decided there were a lot of questions unanswered, a lot of policies that could be drafted and a lot of resources that could be connected in this community that so far had not been connected," she said.
Read and Sirois agreed to create the 11-member panel in an effort to improve victim services. The panel is also working on prevention measures and improving communication among various agencies.
Read told The Johnson City Press that the task force has already identified resources to help victims and is working on others.
"What we're trying to do here is raise awareness in the community that there needs to be more priority put on victims, both by those in city administrations and even private citizens need to be educated," Read said.
Sirois said the police department is invested in the issue but must follow guidelines when it comes to rape kits.
"The police department thoroughly investigates reports of sexual assault and rape as it does other crimes, and makes every attempt to bring the perpetrator to justice, if possible," Sirois said.