Decision making in sexual assault cases : replication research on sexual violence case attrition in the U.S. / Melissa S. Morabito, Linda M. Williams, April Pattavina.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Morabito, Melissa S., author.

Williams, Linda Meyer, author.

Pattavina, April, author.

Contributor:

University of Massachusetts at Lowell, issuing body.

National Institute of Justice (U.S.), sponsoring body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminal justice, Administration of--United States.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

Prosecution--United States--Decision making.

Prosecution.

Sexual abuse victims--United States.

Sexual abuse victims.

Victims.

Survivors.

Prosecution--Decision making.

United States.

Medical Subjects:

Survivors.

Genre:

Government publications

Case studies

Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource ([5] unnumbered pages, viii, 222 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

[Lowell, Mass.] : [University of Massachusetts Lowell] ; [Washington, D.C.] : [National Institute of Justice], [2019]

Summary:

"We report findings from a multi-site study of sexual violence case attrition in the U.S. -- a replication and extension of work conducted by researchers in Los Angeles. The attrition of sexual assault cases from the criminal justice system has been a concern to victims, practitioners and researchers for the last forty years. Some of the barriers come from police discouraging victims from filing a report while other problems result from prosecutors reluctant to prosecute cases. A growing body of research suggests that there is still much that can be done to support victims and to assure that the role of extra-legal factors in case attrition is minimized. Spohn and Tellis (2012a) study made an important contribution to our understanding of the factors that explain sexual violence (SV) case attrition at the policing and prosecutorial stages, however their findings were specific to agencies in LA County. Thus there was a need to examine case processing in other jurisdictions to understand more about factors predictive of attrition. Our research is a multi-site replication designed to consider individual, locale, and community characteristics; victim advocacy; and police and prosecutorial responses. This research relied on a mixed methods approach using quantitative and qualitative data to uncover and interpret patterns in the attrition of sexual assault cases. In six jurisdictions we tracked reports of rape and attempted rape cases and documented the flow of reports through each stage; analyzing detailed case records to understand the dynamics including victim, offender, and case characteristics associated with attrition; and conducting interviews and focus groups with key personnel: police, prosecutors and victim service providers

Contents:

Executive summary

Introduction

Overview of case attrition, 2008-2010

Case outcomes for rape and attempted rape, 2008-2010

Unfounding sexual assault

The overuse of the exceptional clearance

The correlates of case outcomes

Interviews with sexual assault investigators across sites

Interviews with deputy district attorneys

Victim services forcus groups findings

Conclusion and policy recommendations

References

Tables and figures

Appendices.

Notes:

"Document Number: 252689"--Grant transmittal

"Date Received: February 2019"--Grant transmittal

Includes bibliographical references (pages 111-114).

Online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on April 1, 2019).

OCLC:

1091030306