All leads have been exhausted in a four-month investigation by detectives from the University of California, Davis, Police Department, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into two assaults reported last April by a UC Davis student who is an immigration rights activist. After an extensive investigation conducted by a task force of seven full-time campus detectives plus representatives from the justice department and the FBI, the investigatory agencies have concluded that the physical and forensic evidence in the Irma Munoz case does not offer further leads. "This case has been our highest priority," said UC Davis Police Chief Calvin Handy. "Coordinating with the Department of Justice and the FBI, we have conducted a rigorous investigation these past several months, interviewing more than 75 individuals and accumulating more than 850 investigative hours. The case will remain open but, without additional information from the public, the full task force will not continue to operate." Handy said a special crime tip line (752-9944) will remain open and that a $5,000 reward will continue to be offered for information leading to the arrest of Munoz's alleged assailants. Munoz reported she had been accosted by two young men (a Caucasian and an Asian) the evening of April 21 and forced into a field east of the main campus. She told police the suspects used a felt-tip pen and a knife to scratch racial slurs on her arms. Munoz reported she also was attacked the following day in a stairwell of the campus's Memorial Union. She said she was struck in the face by a college-aged Caucasian male. With the Munoz case unresolved, Handy said the campus will launch an assessment of how it seeks to prevent hate crimes through education and outreach and how the crimes are handled once reported. "Even with the protection provided by federal law and university policy, a variety of acts defined as hate crimes are possible," Handy said. "The campus community is well served when criminal misconduct of any kind can either be prevented or resolved immediately. Hate crimes and crimes of violence are especially intimidating and can create an environment where a victim's ability to effectively pursue an education or otherwise participate in the university is severely compromised." The assessment team likely will include representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento as well as individuals from the campus and community with special interest and expertise in the study of hate crimes. The group will examine the incidence of hate crime, campus efforts at education and outreach, enforcement and investigative processes, roles of key campus officials, procedures for reporting hate crimes, and support for victims. A report is expected to be completed late next spring. -ms- Many have expressed doubt that Irma Munoz is telling the truth. Do you believe she is? Irma has accused the police of not taking her complaints seriously. Have you? One of your officers was said to have expressed doubts about Irma's credibility to a reporter. Is this true? Are you bowing to political pressure in not revealing the results of your investigation of physical and forensic evidence? Are you keeping the case open to protect the files? Do you truly believe the public will provide you with information that will enable you to close this case? Do you believe Irma has been taken advantage of by her political friends who have a lot at stake in the area of immigration rights? The creation of a team to assess how the campus manages hate crime incidents suggests that perhaps this latest investigation could have been handled better. Is that a fair conclusion to draw? In hindsight, would you have done anything differently in this investigation? What is the purpose of the assessment team? Will representatives of the Chicano/Latino community be part of the assessment team? (If not, why not?) Irma's reported assaults have galvanized the campus's Chicano/Latino community. Do you think the C/L community has grounds for concern about the campus climate, even if Irma's reports prove false?