The person who cracks open the Potomac River Rapist case might not have had any law enforcement training at all.
With an extensive outreach campaign that includes billboards, a website and social media, authorities are turning to the public for help finding the man who sexually assaulted eight D.C.-area women and killed another in the 1990s. The effort is similar to the initiatives that netted tips leading to the alleged "East Coast Rapist," fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger and the "Granddad Bandit" bank robber.
As technology has made outreach campaigns easier, law enforcement officials say they're seeking -- and getting -- tips from the public in more cases.
| Can you help? |
| If you have information about the Potomac River Rapist case, call D.C. police at 202-727-9099 or the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI (225-5324). |
"It's amazing how many people will utilize that," said Officer Shelley Broderick, a Fairfax County police spokeswoman and the department's coordinator with Crime Solvers, a community program that distributes case information and offers rewards for tips.
In the Potomac River Rapist campaign, sketches of the suspect are plastered on dozens of digital billboards in 19 states along the East Coast and on bus shelters in the District and New York City.
"We're hoping that maybe this will jog someone's memory," D.C. police Capt. Michael Farish said in an online video explaining the initiative.
If other efforts are any indication, that just might happen. In two recent high-profile cases -- the East Coast Rapist and Bulger -- the crucial tip came in just days after campaigns were started.
Billboards alone have led to the capture of more than 40 wanted criminals, FBI spokesman Jason Pack said. Tips from readers of The Washington Examiner have led to the capture of at least 39 D.C.-area criminals. And more than 1,000 fugitives have been apprehended after they were profiled on the television show "America's Most Wanted."
Such cases are "proof positive that you can gain the cooperation of ordinary people in solving crimes," said Jack Levin, a Northeastern University criminology professor.
New publicity on old cases is useful in eliciting tips, according to Jack and Mary Branson, authors of "Delayed Justice," a book on cold case investigations. The renewed attention "may cause a reluctant witness to step forward," the Bransons wrote in an email to The Examiner.
Successful cases have made more agents want to use media campaigns, according to Pack. He said technology -- like social media and multimedia-filled websites -- lets investigators put cases in front of many eyes.
"Police are better recognizing the role that the public can play and the willingness of ordinary people to step forward and get involved," Levin said.
Police are also improving their technology for receiving tips. Area departments have worked with Crime Solvers to set up ways for tipsters to send information anonymously through emails and text messages.
"People are more likely to submit tips when it's easier," said Angela Cruz, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman.
The Potomac River Rapist attacks occurred between May 1991 and August 1998. Eight women were sexually assaulted in Montgomery County and one woman was killed in Georgetown. Seven assaults are linked through DNA and authorities say all are connected by the method of attack.
And there likely have been others, because most victims of stranger rapes don't report the attack to authorities, said Stephen Thompson, a professor at Central Michigan University and expert on serial rapists.
"I would bet anything that there's more out there," he said.
