| | Did you know? Rape and sexual assault continue to be the most underreported of violent crimes. According to the FBI, three in ten of these crimes are reported. |  | |
SART, Community Violence Solutions' Sexual Assault Response Team, provides a pool of specially trained on-call sexual assault nurse examiners to respond to the special needs of sexual assault victims. They perform the emergency medical exam needed to improve the evidence collection process, thereby increasing the rate of prosecution of sexual assault crimes. SART examiners* also serve as expert witnesses in court.
Through SART, hospitals provide a dedicated examining room for evidence collection. SART has program sites at Marin General Hospital and the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez.
Community Violence Solutions' trained advocates provide support to victims throughout the medical exam as well as the court process.
SART collaborative partners include Community Violence Solutions, County Health and Social Service departments, crime labs, hospitals, law enforcement agencies and Marin and Contra Costa County District Attorneys' offices.
*To become a forensic examiner, contact Ana Rea, SART Nurse Coordinator at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center: (925) 370-5905. |
