EDITORIAL

Blind eye no more

Police response to sex crimes must improve.

Having faced a sexual predator, then-teenager Jodi Rimmer described the raw emotions that wracked her following the 1990 ordeal.

"I was isolated," she said. "I was embarrassed. I was scared. I was alone."

The real shock? Ms. Rimmer wasn't describing the assault she says was committed by a Northeast Philadelphia therapist - a man later jailed for indecent assault. Instead, she was talking about her treatment at the hands of the Philadelphia police sex-crimes unit in 1990.

Ms. Rimmer, sadly, is but one of hundreds of women whose sexual-assault claims have been dismissed or shelved over the years by Philadelphia police.

In large part, the investigation of her claim fell victim to a sex-crimes unit that was overburdened, ill trained, and under political pressure to make the city appear safe.

Her encounter with police - one of several detailed this week by The Inquirer - shows how the troubled sex-crimes unit added to the trauma experienced by some sexual-assault victims.

The pressure to shelve or dismiss rape attempts and other sexual assaults not only denied justice to victims. It also left predators free to assault other women.

Equally chilling was the experience of jogger Grace Roman, who was about to be raped along West River Drive in 1995 when the man assaulting her was frightened off by a passerby.

From the police, who did little to pursue her as-yet uncaught attacker, Ms. Roman said she heard this callous refrain: "Be glad you're not dead."

That such cynicism would creep into police work is no surprise, but that it would be displayed so readily to crime victims is appalling.

It's not just the gross insensitivity. Such remarks get reported from relative to friend to coworker, fueling an impression that Philadelphia is a place where many illegal or violent acts have in effect been decriminalized.

The hope is that reforms embraced by Police Commissioner John F. Timoney will take hold. His objectives are clear: No sexual-assault case will be buried; more detectives will be put to work, with better training.

With City Council's unanimous backing, Mayor-elect John F. Street should see to it that sweeping changes are made: a new, centrally located and less intimidating headquarters for the sex-crimes unit; revamped handling of child- and juvenile-assault cases; a review of hundreds of cases that the police dismissed or shelved.

These steps will cost money, but they will be well worth it.