Hays County announced Feb. 26 it has created a sexual assault response team, or SART, that will bring together law enforcement, the criminal prosecutor's office, a sexual assault nurse examiner and a mental health provider in part to address a broad issue regarding sexual assault.
The effort, led by Commissioner Walt Smith, was part of a larger issue tackled by the 87th Texas Legislature with the passing of Senate Bill 476, which requires counties to establish SARTs.
"A statewide prevalence study showed that 6.3 million adult Texans have experienced some form of sexual assault. Yet the Institute of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault reports that only 9.2% of victims report their experience to the police," Smith said in a press release.
The SART will be tasked with adjusting protocols to include those who choose not to make a police report, distribute protocols to local law enforcement and collect and maintain data on the number of sexual assaults reported to local law enforcement, according to the release.
