Bad Cop, No Donut
After the 28th attack this past weekend, the Iowa City Police Dept. think there is a pattern to the attack on woman in the downtown area. DUH! You guy put that together all by yourself? Last Fall several women were attack during football weekends, first at home games and now even away games. Is it that hard to catch this guy? I know ICPD has undercover women police, I've seen them. How hard is it to catch this clown! They even have a composite image to work with!

READ IN THE DI Article.

A dusk attack on a woman Aug. 31 appears to fit the pattern of roughly 27 similar offenses that have occurred since September 2006, Iowa City police Sgt. Doug Hart said.

Police responded to a report that a woman was grabbed while walking near the intersection of Bowery and Van Buren Streets around 8:15 p.m. The assailant fled north down an alley off of the 400 block of Bowery Street. The victim did not receive any physical injuries during the attack.

"It's possible it's the same person," Hart said. "The time is a little off. It's difficult to tell right now."

Police have now recorded 28 attacks on women in near downtown Iowa City since September 2006. Eighteen could be by the same offender; the other 10 differ in suspect description.

There have been three previous attacks in the South Johnson and Van Buren area.

Hart said police are continuing to focus on near-downtown areas to curb attacks, but they have not apprehended any suspects in the cases.

Police are paying attention to people who match the suspects' descriptions who are skulking alone in dark areas, he said.

Some areas near downtown are receiving added attention, he said, and all officers have been briefed on the attack trend.

"We're trying to address the areas in and around where the assaults are occurring," he said.

In response to the high number of attacks this year, women may choose to carry Mace or other personal weapons, but Hart said there are both advantages and disadvantages.

While personal weapons may be able to avert an attack, he said, they could escalate one, too.

"Make yourself aware of things that could [make a situation] go sideways," he said. "Be aware of the risks that go alongside that."

Karla Miller, the executive director of the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, said people need to be knowledgeable on how to use something such as Mace before carrying it.

"When you pull that out, you need to be committed to using it - otherwise, it will get taken away from you," she said. "It would be an assailant's worse nightmare to run into someone who's going to hurt them."

RVAP offers counseling, a crisis line, and other advocacy services for victims of attacks, and Miller said most women think their situation needs to be more serious than it is to go to RVAP.

"You really can't gauge [the impact of these crimes] by what was done," she said. "It has to do with what its impact has been on you."

Miller encourages people to travel in groups, stay on well-lit roads, and know how to kick off high heels if fleeing is necessary.

The increase in attacks could have women thinking: "'It feels like I'm preparing to do battle every time I'm going to go out the door,' " she said.

"But it doesn't have to feel like that."

What the Video!

Latest attack fits pattern, 28th in past year
Kurtis Hiatt - The Daily Iowan