The investigation and prosecution of major criminal offenses now shifts to independent prosecutors in a bid to strengthen the accountability of the military justice system.
A new system that will put independent lawyers in charge of the prosecution of sexual assault cases in the U.S. military took effect on Thursday, marking a significant change to the way the Department of Defense tries those accused of an offense.
As a result of the change, sexual assault and other serious crimes will shift away from military commanders to legal organizations within each military service called the Offices of Special Trial Counsel.
The reform comes after years of efforts by members of Congress and others to counter a troubling rise in sexual assaults within the armed forces.
For fiscal year 2022, the Pentagon’s Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military showed incidents rose 13% in the Navy, 9% in the Air Force and 3.6% in the Marine Corps. While incidents in the Army fell 9%, there were still 8,942 reports of sexual assault across the entire force.
Last year, Congress passed legislation to strengthen protections for service members, and in July, President Biden approved the system that takes effect today.
