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Navy, Marine Corps to publish court martial results online

Posted at 2:54 PM, Jul 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-18 14:54:16-04

Washington, DC – The Navy and Marine Corps will begin publishing their own version of a sex offenders list as part of new effort to crack down on sexual assault in the military, and NCIS will hire more than 50 additional Family and Sexual Violence Program personnel to shorten investigation times.

The new measures were announce by Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus to prevent as part of an ongoing initiative to battle sexual assault in the military.

Mabus approved nearly $10 million to hire the additional Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Family and Sexual Violence Program personnel.

“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.

They Navy says 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.

Mabus 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.

The list is part of the Navy’s broadening efforts to combat sexual assaults in the ranks. Roving shore patrols will now begin at all bases where troops live in barracks. The intent, according to the Navy, is to deter behavior in the barracks that could lead to sexual assaults by having a more visible presence of senior enlisted and officer personnel moving through the barracks, especially late at night.

The Navy has instituted similar patrols in San Diego, where the patrols also visit local bars and restaurants as part of the effort to increase that visibility.

Part of the effort has centered around “deglamorizing” alcohol, as military officials like to say. Officials have long said alcohol has been a factor in many sexual assault cases.

The Navy is also announcing it will restrict the sale of all alcoholic beverages in its stores on bases, many of which are open 24 hours a day. Sales will be limited to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Display space in stores may also be limited.