NC city’s police defend policy on rape reports

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The police chief in one of North Carolina’s largest cities says his department doesn’t regularly tell the public about reported rapes and sexual assaults because it would create “a public panic.”

The Fayetteville Observer reported that Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine spoke Tuesday about the investigation of seven cases since June in which women have reported being sexually
assaulted. The department disclosed the cases Monday.

Bergamine says detectives need to investigate reports before alerting the public. He says say reports could be false claims or the victims could leave the state and hamper an investigation.

The department makes available nearly all crime reports on its Web site, but it doesn’t include sexual assaults or rapes. It says it will make the reports available if someone requests them.

Information from: The Fayetteville Observer

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