The Accuracy of Arrest Data in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

2022 ◽  
pp. 001112872110671
Author(s):  
Theodore P. Cross ◽  
Alex Wagner ◽  
Daniel Bibel
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
False Negatives ◽  
Improving Accuracy

This study compared NIBRS arrest data in a statewide sample with arrest and summons data on the same cases collected directly from law enforcement agencies (LEAs). NIBRS matched LEA data in 84.1% of cases. However, 5.8% of LEA arrests and 52.9% of LEA summons were false negatives, that is, they were incorrectly represented as not cleared by arrest in NIBRS. False negatives were more likely when more than 1 day elapsed between incident and arrest and when the crimes were sexual assault or intimidation. False negatives were less likely in small LEAs (for summons) Recommendations are presented for improving accuracy.

scholarly journals Enacting an Improved Response to Sexual Assault: A Criminal Justice Practitioner’s Guide

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Melton
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Serial Offenders

Sexual assault is a violent crime that traumatizes individual victims and endangers entire communities. Every victim of sexual assault deserves an opportunity for justice and access to the resources they need to recover from this trauma. In addition, many perpetrators of sexual assaults are serial offenders who also commit other violent crimes, including armed robberies, aggravated assaults, burglary, domestic violence, and homicides, against strangers and acquaintances. Criminal justice agencies have the power to create a strategic, sustainable plan for an improved response to sexual assault that aligns with current best practices and national recommendations. In this document, we define an “improved response” as an approach that supports effective investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases, holds perpetrators accountable, and promotes healing and recovery for victims of sexual assault. This guide will help prosecutor and law enforcement agencies create a process with milestones, goals, and suggested actions, all designed to support a successful and sustainable approach for addressing sexual assault cases. Improving the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault ultimately improves public safety and promotes trust between criminal justice agencies and the communities they serve.

Varieties of Nonfamily Abduction of Children and Adolescents

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
NANCY L. ASDIGIAN ◽  
DAVID FINKELHOR ◽  
GERALD HOTALING
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Definition ◽  
Teenage Girls ◽  
Police Records

A sample of 396 cases of nonfamily abduction was extracted from police records in a national survey of law enforcement agencies. Incidents that fit the public stereotype of a kidnapping (children who were taken by strangers and kept for an extended period of time or moved a long distance) were much less prevalent than incidents that simply met legal definitions for abduction. The former—stereotypical abductions—also tended to involve more Caucasian preteen victims who were taken but not sexually assaulted. The majority of legal-definition abductions, in contrast, was characterized by the forcible sexual assault of teenage girls. Legal-definition abductions that did not involve sexual assault occurred in the context of a diverse range of other crimes, including robbery attempts, hijackings, acts of revenge, intimidation and terrorizing, and dating violence. The findings support the idea of distinguishing between stereotypical and legal-definition abducations and highlight the need to orient efforts aimed at the prevention of nonfamily abduction toward those at risk for sexual assault.

Justice Denied: Low Submission Rates of Sexual Assault Kits and the Predicting Variables

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (17) ◽  
pp. 3547-3573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie L. Valentine ◽  
L. Kathleen Sekula ◽  
Lawrence J. Cook ◽  
Rebecca Campbell ◽  
Alison Colbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Site Location ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Seek Health Care ◽  
Crime Laboratory

Following sexual assaults, victims are advised to seek health care services with forensic evidence collected and packaged in sexual assault kits (SAKs). This large ( N = 1,874), retrospective study examined rates of SAK submissions by law enforcement to the state crime laboratory for analysis from 2010 to 2013 at four sites in a Western state in the United States with established sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs. Variables of legal and extralegal characteristics in sexual assault cases were explored through generalized estimating equations (GEE) modeling to determine what factors statistically predicted SAK submissions. For submitted SAKs, the length of time between the dates of assault and dates of submission was categorized, and bivariate and multivariate analyses were calculated to discover legal and extralegal characteristics affecting time of submission. The study sites represented 40% of the state’s law enforcement agencies and 65% of the state’s population. Out of the 1,874 SAKs in the study, only 38.2% were submitted by law enforcement to the state crime laboratory for analysis. When SAK submissions were examined based on time between assaults and submission dates, 22.8% were submitted within a year of the assault and 15.4% were submitted more than a year after the assault following media and community pressure for law enforcement agencies to submit SAKs in storage. Significant variability of SAK submission rates and the time submitted from the assault dates were found between the sites. Site location was found to be the main determinant of whether or not SAKs were submitted. The lack of SAK submissions for analysis results in justice denied for victims and raises public safety concerns. The finding that the location in which the sexual assault occurred was the primary factor on SAK submissions represents an inequity of justice.

Dissemination and Impact Amplified: How a Researcher–Reporter Collaboration Helped Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Victims With Untested Sexual Assault Kits

2021 ◽  
pp. 104398622199988
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Lovell ◽  
Rachel Dissell
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Produce Change ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rape Kits ◽  
Criminal Justice Response

We present a case study of a researcher–reporter collaboration that formed from an initiative to address thousands of previously untested rape kits in one Midwestern (U.S.) jurisdiction. We explore this symbiotic partnership by examining (a) how and why it formed; (b) the outcomes, including extensive and public dissemination and a unique project that surveyed 294 Ohio law enforcement agencies to see what happened after the rape kits were tested (Ohio Rape Kit Survey Project); and (c) the impact that the partnership, dissemination, and larger initiative had in sparking demonstrable change in how the justice system and the general public responded to and engaged with the issue of untested rape kits and with victims of sexual assault. We conclude with larger takeaways from this collaboration for researchers and reporters but also provide a framework for how this type of collaboration can be leveraged to produce change for the greater good.

scholarly journals College Party Culture and Sexual Assault

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 236-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason M. Lindo ◽  
Peter Siminski ◽  
Isaac D. Swensen
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Division 1 ◽  
Local Law ◽  
Identification Strategy ◽  
Random Variation

This paper considers the degree to which events that intensify partying increase sexual assault. Estimates are based on panel data from campus and local law enforcement agencies and an identification strategy that exploits plausibly random variation in the timing of Division 1 football games. The estimates indicate that these events increase daily reports of rape with 17–24-year-old victims by 28 percent. The effects are driven largely by 17–24-year-old offenders and by offenders unknown to the victim, but we also find significant effects on incidents involving offenders of other ages and on incidents involving offenders known to the victim. (JEL I23, J16, K42, Z13)

scholarly journals Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to Study Animal Cruelty: Preliminary Results (2016–2019)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Julie M. Palais
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Animal Cruelty ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Federal Bureau Of Investigation ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
The People ◽  
And Gender

On 1 January 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began collecting data on crimes involving animal cruelty from law enforcement agencies that participate in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in the United States (U.S.). Prior to 2016, such crimes either went unreported or were lumped into an “all other offenses” category, making it difficult to understand who was committing these crimes and whether there were any connections between crimes perpetrated against animals and crimes in which there was a human victim. Animal cruelty has cruelty has been linked to certain types of human violence and, therefore, it is important for authorities to know more about the people committing these crimes. Preliminary results from an analysis of the first four years (2016–2019) of data are presented. The age and gender of animal cruelty offenders, the time of day when most crimes occur, and the most common locations where offenses take place are presented. The type of animal cruelty involved and details of the other crimes that co-occur with animal cruelty are discussed. The limitations of the data are shared and recommendations are made about other types of data that could be collected in the future to add value to the data.

An Examination of Sexual Assault Kit Submission Efficiencies Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Law Enforcement Agencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1095-1115
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Hendrix ◽  
Kevin J. Strom ◽  
William J. Parish ◽  
Patricia A. Melton ◽  
Amanda Royal Young
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Models ◽  
Labor Inputs ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Available Resources

Drawing on results from a survey of 321 law enforcement agencies, we assess how labor and capital inputs, evidence policies, and other agency characteristics affect the number of sexual assault kits (SAKs) submitted to crime laboratories for testing. We examine to what extent agencies are submitting the maximum number of SAKs possible, given their available resources. Stochastic frontier models are used to analyze the productivity of labor inputs for the submission of SAKs and the extent to which resource inefficiencies contribute to unsubmitted SAKs. Results indicate that agencies are submitting fewer than 60% of SAKs that are possible given their resources. Full-time sworn officers were found to be productive inputs, as the number of SAKs submitted increases by 24% for every 100% increase in the number of officers. Findings also suggest that the accumulation of SAKs is driven partially by technical inefficiencies but more so by a lack of resources.

Current and New Frontiers: Exploring How Place Matters Through Arkansas NIBRS Reporting Practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 001112872097431
Author(s):  
Grant Drawve ◽  
Casey T. Harris ◽  
Shaun A. Thomas ◽  
Jyotishka Datta ◽  
Jack Cothren
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Little Rock ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Information Center ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The City

The current study focuses on criminal incidents reported to the National Incident Based Reporting System for the state of Arkansas, USA, in 2016. Arkansas law enforcement agencies are mandated to report their crime data to the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC). The current study attempts to showcase the advantages that will be gained by the collection of address-identified NIBRS data throughout Arkansas and for other states that follow suit. In particular, we compare (1) statewide NIBRS data that is publicly available to (2) the address-level data for the city of Little Rock. To illustrate this variation, we use Arkansas as an example of the spatial variation in crime occurrence at a macro-level then move toward meso and micro-level agency-based analyses.

Sexual assault investigations and the factors that contribute to a suspect's arrest

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Markey ◽  
Thomas Scott ◽  
Crystal Daye ◽  
Kevin J. Strom
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Data Abstraction ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Physical Evidence

PurposeSexual assault investigations present uniquely challenging circumstances to detectives, and a small proportion result in arrest. Improving sexual assault investigations requires expanding the evidence base to improve our understanding of how these investigations unfold and the factors associated with positive case outcomes, including the likelihood that an offender is arrested.Design/methodology/approachThe authors abstracted data on 491 adult sexual assaults investigated by five large and midsized law enforcement agencies to describe the characteristics of sexual assault investigations and to explain the relationships between these characteristics and the likelihood that a suspect is arrested.FindingsOverall, detectives move swiftly to investigate sexual assaults but tend to miss investigative opportunities that increase the likelihood of an arrest, like locating and processing the crime scene or pursuing interviews with key witnesses and leads. Sexual assaults typically lack physical evidence that can be used to identify and lead to an arrest of a suspected offender; when this evidence is present, the case is more likely to result in an arrest. Delayed reporting of the crime to law enforcement decreases the likelihood of a suspect being arrested, but the mechanisms are unclear.Originality/valueFew studies have used a detailed data abstraction process for a large sample of cases from multiple law enforcement agencies to understand sexual assault investigations and their case outcomes. The results can improve practitioners' and researchers' understanding of sexual assault investigations, including those factors that increase the likelihood of a suspect's arrest.

Registration and the Closure of Stranger-Perpetrated Sex Crimes Reported to Police

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107906322093182
Author(s):  
David M. Bierie ◽  
Kristen M. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Survival Models ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Sex Offender Registration ◽  
Multivariate Survival ◽  
Before And After

A key goal of sex offender registration is to assist law enforcement in sexual assault investigations; to identify potential suspects when the perpetrator’s identity is unknown. To date, however, no research has assessed the utility of sex offender registries in closing cases of sexual assault when the incident involved stranger perpetrators. Addressing this gap, the study drew on the National Incident-Based Reporting System (1992–2001) to test the effect of registry implementation on closure of stranger-involved sex crimes across six states. Comparing closure speeds from before and after registration began in each state, multivariate survival models showed incidents of stranger-perpetrated sexual assault were cleared 23% to 28% faster post-registration implementation. Incidents with juvenile victims and incidents with additional crimes beyond the sexual assault also closed significantly faster (regardless of whether a registry existed).

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