RISE IN RAPES PERPLEXES LAPD; INCREASE POSSIBLY RESULT OF GREATER AWARENESS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Faced with a sharp increase in rape cases in the San Fernando Valley and across the city this year, LAPD's top commanders have concluded there is no serial rapist, no pattern and no simple solution to the alarming problem.

While crime as a whole dropped across the city in the first quarter of 1998, rape jumped 22 percent, with 12 of the LAPD's 16 divisions seeing an increase.

``It's always frustrating when crime goes up and you can't pinpoint what the issues are and instantly create a decrease,'' said Deputy Chief Mike Bostic, the San Fernando Valley's top police official. ``The numbers are up but there was no specific thing we could look to hang our hat on to say, This is what we should be doing.''

The leading theory for the rise is that women are reporting more date or acquaintance rapes because of the success of ``no means no'' campaigns and encouragement from rape-prevention educators and counselors.

In the North Hollywood Division, for example, police by early May received reports of 38 rapes - of which only eight were believed to have been committed by men who were strangers to the victims.

A similar breakdown was not available for other divisions in the Valley, but Bostic, detectives and rape counselors said they believe so-called date rape is on the rise.

``Whenever we educate the public, we always end up with more reported crimes,'' Bostic said. ``I'd rather have an increase in crime and know what's going on than not have people report it.''

During the meeting, commanders agreed they need more training for sex-crimes detectives, sharing of information among divisions and educational programs, especially in high schools.

Bostic and others pointed to the North Hollywood Division as an example of the importance of seasoned detectives who are experienced in questioning rape victims and effectively gathering evidence.

Those detectives, with the help of stepped-up patrols, were credited last month with capturing two men suspected of kidnapping and raping two women during a series of attacks and robberies in North Hollywood.

Even with a spike in their rape caseload, the division's detectives have solved 77 percent of this year's cases, according to North Hollywood Division Capt. Richard Wahler.

``What we have seen is an increase in acquaintance rapes, where the woman knows the attacker'' as a friend, date or family member, he said.

In the Foothill Division, where only nine of 39 rapes were by strangers, the number of cases solved or ``cleared'' was just 36 percent, which commanders blamed on a personnel shake-up in the sex-crimes unit.

The clearance rate in the Valley is 57 percent, through March 31, compared to 70 percent citywide.

Like other detectives and experts, Wahler stresses the importance of teaching women not only to avoid attack but to report it if it occurs.

Crisis counselors and prevention experts agree.

``An increase in the numbers could mean there is more rape, but it could also mean a shift in attitude, with women saying, I didn't deserve this - I didn't do anything to bring this on myself,'' said Leah Aldridge, director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assault Against Women.

The rape crisis movement began in the early 1970s with street rallies, protests and women flocking to self-defense classes, Aldridge said. But in the past decade, it has evolved to include both prevention-oriented education campaigns and crisis intervention.

The Northridge-based Valley Trauma Center sees its mission as both educator and healer.

Last year, it delivered its message of violence prevention to some 15,000 people across the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, said prevention education coordinator Dove Poock.

Classes were delivered at apartment complexes, shelters, community groups and, perhaps most importantly, schools and colleges where young people are steeped in the myths surrounding rape, she said.

``The biggest myth is that it doesn't happen much or only to other people or only to certain types of people,'' she said.

One myth challenged vigorously is that the rapist is the stereotypical stranger-in-a-trench coat with a van, whereas studies show most sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, she said.

``The vast majority are a friend, someone you party with, someone in your dorm or a neighbor,'' Poock said.

Gone a step beyond education, two Valley hospitals have established Sexual Assault Response Teams of specially trained doctors and nurses to treat rape victims in exam rooms set aside for these cases.

``Typically, when (a rape survivor) would go to the emergency room in the past, they would not be considered a critical case so they would sit in the waiting room for hours and many would leave rather than wait,'' Poock said.

Now, rape crisis counselors and police refer, or in some cases take, victims to Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City and Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Van Nuys because they know the treatment and investigation are geared to handle this type of trauma.

``It makes it less intimidating for the survivor to make a report,'' Poock said. ``We've seen the number of people seeking help early on just skyrocket this year. They're willing to go to the hospital and report what's going on because it's done in a way that's much more sensitive to their needs.''