Agencies revise sex assault guidelines By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle Justice can be baffling, even frightening, to any crime victim, especially a victim of sexual assault. On Wednesday, local law enforcement officials and social agencies announced a plan for cooperation that may make the system less intimidating. A new set of "best practice" guidelines for all involved with handling sexual assault reports has been developed by the agencies, with lists of how law enforcement and social agencies can work together to best handle assault cases. Jeanie Reimer, director of the Sexual Assault Center of Family Services, said the plan had been discussed for some 10 years and had taken two years to put together. "People change, players change, and sometimes relationships change, so we don't always continue to work on those relationships," Reimer said about the length of time in getting the program to completion. The new guidelines "really reinforce what has been taking place," said District Attorney John Zakowski, "and that's the cooperation between agencies." "We've been doing that in the past but now it will be more widely known throughout the department, for our officers on the street to be able to know that there are other agencies that need to get involved," said Green Bay Police Chief Craig Van Schyndle. As part of the program, 2,500 booklets were printed for law enforcement officers, schools and social agencies, with guidelines on sensitivity to victims, victim rights, and procedures for medical, law enforcement and social personnel. "I don't need to tell you how complicated and lengthy process the court system is for victims of sexual assault," Reimer told reporters. "But the point is sexual assault victims don't know that the process they are entering is going to be so diffficult. "We have to make sure we don't revictimize the victims." The plan was put together by the Brown County Sexual Assault Coordinated Community Response team, including police in Ashwaubenon, De Pere, Green Bay, Oneida and Pulaski, the Brown County Sheriff's Department, the Ashwaubenon and Green Bay school districts, American Foundation Counseling, Aurora BayCare, the B ay Area Agency on Aging, the county Human Services Department, the district attorney's office, CASA, Catholic Charities, the Family Violence Center, Oneida Social Services, Resurrection Parish, the Sexual Assault Center of Family Services, St. Norbert College, the St. Vincent Hospital Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program, St. Willebrord Church, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the state Department of Corrections and the YWCA.