WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus furthered his commitment to improve the Department of the Navy's sexual assault response by announcing additional resources for investigators and a new initiative designed to enhance accountability and transparency across the Department.
Mabus approved nearly $10 million to hire more than 50 additional Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Family and Sexual Violence Program personnel to shorten investigation times, and he directed the Navy and Marine Corps to regularly publish online the results of each service's courts- martial.
"Our Navy and Marine Corps is the greatest maritime force the world has ever known. To uphold our core values of honor, courage, and commitment, we must do all we can to protect our people from those who would wish to do them harm, especially if they reside within our own ranks," said Mabus. "This department is fully committed to using all available resources to prevent this crime, aggressively investigate allegations and prosecute as appropriate. We will not hide from this challenge-we will be active, open and transparent."
The additional Adult Sexual Assault Program (ASAP) special agents and crime scene personnel approved by Mabus will further help decrease the sexual assaults investigation timeline.
ASAP teams with specialized training in legal jurisdiction, investigative procedures, evidence collection, sexual assault victim sensitivities, and the handling of reports and official statements are currently being deployed to fleet concentration areas worldwide.
To increase transparency of the department's criminal proceedings, SECNAV directed the services to begin publishing the results of all Special and General Courts-Martial, including sexual assault cases, on the service primary websites of Navy.mil and Marines.mil, respectively, by July 25.
The first of these summaries will cover those cases concluded from January through June of this year, but future editions will be published regularly.
Additional information and resources to combat sexual assault is available at www.sapr.navy.mil. Sexual assault affects Navy readiness, and the Navy is committed to preventing sexual assault. Join the Navy's conversation about sexual assault on social media and help raise awareness by using #NavySAPR.
