When an Unstoppable Force affects an Immovable Institution: How Design Thinking troubleshooted Special Victims Unit Investigations
Repurposing design thinking + frameworks to effectively implement communication strategies and emphasize the urgency of survivor-centered practices within the NYPD's Special Victims Unit investigations.
OVERVIEW
A RUDE AWAKENING
Sixty percent of rapes went unsolved by the New York City Police Department in 2020, the highest rate of unclosed rape cases since the department began publicly releasing that data in 2018. Considering the NYPD's low success rate of resolved Special Victims Unit investigations, it is clear new avenues of strategy must be explored to spearhead much-needed change with the intent to increase success rates of resolved cases.
SAME GAME, DIFFERENT STRATEGY
Utilizing design thinking and strategic messaging, I created impactful documents to communicate several pain points to emphasize vulnerabilities within Special Victims Unit investigations. These effective documents successfully landed meetings with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, several ranked members of SVU, a New York Senator, the New York City Council, and the United States Department of Justice.
CONNECTING THE DOTS
On September 2020, I saw an opportunity to repurpose user-centered design thinking into the advocacy space. By applying trauma-informed communication and user-centered interview strategies, I wrote a comprehensive 13-page incident report of a survivor's tragic experience. It was crucial to keep my procedure extremely empathetic and survivor-centered.
BLUEPRINT OF THE CRIME SCENE
To further support the survivor's account, I designed a blueprint of the perpetrator's apartment. The crime scene was recreated through the survivor's best recollection of the tragic incident. Deeply empathetic UX/UI design interview strategies were practiced to collect the necessary details and to minimize re-triggering the survivor. The blueprint enhanced communication strategies with effective visuals to substantiate the survivor's credibility.
REOPENING A CLOSED CASE
A month after handing over the extensive written and visual documentation to SVU, the first detective closed the case without a proper investigation. As the victim was devastated, they visited several police stations to retrieve information about the investigative procedures. In the process, I repurposed service design frameworks to collect data and identify several pain points concerning SVU's investigative methods.
On March 2021 with reinforcement from Pace Women's Justice Center, the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, and Mount Sinai, I reopened the survivor's case in a virtual meeting with the assistant district attorney from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Also present in this meeting was a lieutenant and a captain from SVU. The survivor was assured they would be assigned a second, female detective to carry out the investigation.
Unfortunately, the case was closed, then reopened, then closed yet again.
REACHING OUT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
To continue the advocacy journey, I designed a meeting agenda that successfully listed several pain points within SVU and the medical institution's mishandling of rape. This agenda landed a meeting with a New York senator on April 2021.
On October 2021, the survivor landed a spot in the New York City Council to speak about her botched SVU case. I drafted a testimony that not only moved the council but also emphasized the urgency for SVU to implement survivor-centered practices in rape investigations.
CONCLUSION
On November 2021, the advocacy journey ended with the survivor speaking about their experience with SVU to the U.S. Department of Justice. I was also able to relay my findings of the investigative pain points to the federal government. On June 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil investigation on the NYPD's Special Victims Unit.
Although the survivor was not able to receive justice, they were able to rehabilitate from the crime committed against them after three years of therapy. They currently live a quiet life with their partner.