Fairchild SAPR launches CATCH program

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lawrence Sena
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

Team Fairchild’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response team implemented a new Department of Defense-wide, confidential sexual assault reporting program Aug. 5, for victims of sexual assault to provide information about their incident.

The Catch a Serial Offender program, or CATCH, allows sexual assault victims who file a restricted report to confidentially provide information about the suspect and incident to military criminal investigators to identify individuals suspected of multiple sexual assault incidents.

“This program will be a great opportunity for victims who don’t want to file an unrestricted report, to be able to file a restricted report and still assist investigators with ensuring more assaults don’t occur,” said Jessica Bradshaw, 92nd Air Refueling Sexual Assault Response Coordinator.

When information provided by multiple victims matches one another, the base SARC will then be notified by Air Force SAPR headquarters to contact the victims and provide them with the option to convert their restricted report to an unrestricted report for the pursuit of military justice procedures.

“If a victim decides to participate in the [CATCH] program and there is a match between the individual who committed the sexual assault and another victim’s report, as the SARC, I will notify the victim of the match and provide them the option to file an unrestricted report,” Bradshaw said.

All submissions to the CATCH program are tracked by a control number, known only by SAPR personnel, and given to victims participating in the program. This allows victims to submit information about their incident without law enforcement having access to the victims’ identifying information.

“Victims participating in the program do not have to change their report from restricted to unrestricted, or engage with law enforcement,” Bradshaw said. “They are in complete control of their participation in the [CATCH] program and they may choose not to participate at any time during the process.”

Team Fairchild’s SAPR program constantly seeks new ways to empower victims to participate in the military justice process. If you or someone you know has questions about whether they should participate in the program, call the base SAPR team at 509-247-4771 or visit https://www.af.mil/SAPR/.