Best Practice Guidelines for SART—Utah

Overview
The Best Practice Guidelines were developed by an ad hoc committee of the Utah Council on Victims of Crime in an attempt to enhance the system's response to victims of sexual violence. The committee researched what had been done in other states, including legislative initiatives, and developed a tool for SART guidelines for each community.

Utah's Best Practice Guidelines include recommendations for developing a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), training team members individually and as a team, and revising response and callout protocols. The guidelines were printed and distributed during an Annual Crime Victims Conference in 2001.

Goals
The guidelines were developed to help communities create or enhance a SART to best serve their specific jurisdiction.

Making the Idea a Reality
In 2001, Salt Lake County formed a planning committee for SART's Best Practice Guidelines. The committee included members from a rape recovery center, Salt Lake Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, Salt Lake County Law Enforcement, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, the Office of Crime Victim Reparations, and the Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. The guidelines were distributed during the Annual Crime Victims Conference in 2001. They include recommendations for developing SARTs, specialized training for team members, ideal forensic medical exam sites, activation guidelines for SARTs, suggested law enforcement protocol, and creation of a sexual assault response team task force to monitor and evaluate responses to sexual violence.

Benefits to Victims
Best Practice Guidelines for SARTs in Utah provide victims with more consistent and victim-centered responses through coordinated efforts among medical, legal, and advocacy organizations. Victims benefit from practices that have been explored and proved successful in Utah and other states.

Benefits to Victim Service Professionals
The guidelines provide practical tools for expanding a SART. The document also enables service providers to proactively address systems' issues and share resources and multidisciplinary expertise locally and regionally.

Contact Information
Utah Council on Victims of Crime—Subcommittee
350 East 500 South, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801–238–2360