Define the SART's Jurisdiction

Available Resources

Regardless of the jurisdiction's geographical size and makeup, it is important to consider how many law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and community advocacy programs serve the area to effectively coordinate a response among each entity.

For example, rural jurisdictions may be challenged by geographic isolation, limited access to services, the need to travel large distances for a single response, minimal funding for specialized services, privacy concerns for victims, and widespread economic depression.

If a region has limited resources, you may want to identify agencies and facilities in neighboring areas with which you can join to develop a regional response, or consider partnering with other victim service organizations in the area. For example, a shelter for battered women with spare office space might be temporarily designated for sexual assault forensic exams.

Urban areas also have challenges. They may need to coordinate services among incorporated and unincorporated portions of a city, determine how to establish partnerships with agencies that have limited free time due to high case loads, work to coordinate services among multiple service providers, or streamline the SART activation process. For example, the SART of Brevard County, Florida, streamlined its services through an agreement with the Salvation Army, which is the designated domestic violence shelter. The Salvation Army offered space at its new facility for performing medical forensic medical exams for victims county-wide. Previously, these exams had been performed at six busy hospital emergency departments in the county, where there were no shower facilities readily available. To ensure proper oversight, the local public health department agreed to provide a medical director for the new exam facility.