In response to brewing controversy surrounding the use of DNA testing in the search for a suspected Charlottesville serial rapist, City Police Chief Timothy J. Longo announced alterations to department procedure "minimizing the opportunity for a patrol officer to take buccal swabs" in a press conference at City Hall Friday afternoon.
Longo announced the changes after community members expressed concern over the appropriateness of the testing at a meeting at the University last Monday.
Longo specifically addressed community concerns that the testing was too broad and "negatively impacted the department's relationship with our African-American community."
"I was hired to engage the community," Longo said. "I cannot compromise the public's trust and confidence."
In the winter of 2003, patrol officers began asking for voluntary buccal swabs from individuals matching the serial rapist's composite sketch and identified either through the department's call service, Crime Stoppers, an investigator, the department's Records Management System or an encounter with the police that raised suspicion.
"What it boils down to is that every black man was a suspect," Black Student Alliance President Myra Franklin said.
Because of increasing community unease with the racial issues surrounding the search for the serial rapist and the subsequent DNA testing, Longo and community members formulated a new procedure Friday morning for presentation at the afternoon press conference.
"Effective immediately, uniformed patrol personnel who are oftentimes the first responders to 911 calls will no longer request buccal swab samples based solely on reports of suspicious persons reported to look like the serial rapist composite," a department press release stated.
All requests for voluntary buccal swab testing now require a preliminary investigation, according to the press release.
Another notable revision to the department's procedures is that buccal swab samples eliminated from the investigation will now either be returned to the individual from whom they were taken or destroyed.
Previously, samples were retained by the Charlottesville Police Department after being evaluated at the state lab in Richmond.
Longo assured community members that the changes to the department's approach will not hinder the search for the serial rapist.
"If I believed for a moment this jeopardized the safety of the community, I would not have taken these measures," Longo said.
Speech pattern may be used in the future to identify suspects in the investigation, according to the press release.
"There were certain words used in the course of contact with victims," Longo said. "His voice tone tended to shift from aggressive rage to one that was calm and conversational."
While authorities have sought input on the investigation from members of the University community, more efforts should be made to discuss issues in the City's low-income neighborhoods, said Karen Waters, a spokesperson for the Charlottesville Community Equality Council.
Several members of the University community remained skeptical.
"We think it's preposterous that the police department was doing this without investigation in the first place," Franklin said. "Police had ample time to respond to all of these issues, why now? We still have to appreciate that they are changing their practices."
Longo emphasized that although the last attack linked to the serial rapist occurred in April 2003, the community still should take the investigation seriously.
"It is irresponsible to assume we've done something to encourage [the serial rapist] to leave the area," Longo said. "At any point in time, he could reengage himself in this type of behavior."
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