Funneled Through or Filtered Out: An Examination of Police and Prosecutorial Decision-Making in Adult Sexual Assault Cases

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (15-16) ◽  
pp. 1919-1940
Author(s):  
Ericka A. Wentz
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Adult Sexual Assault ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective ◽  
Relevant Factors

To improve criminal justice responses to sexual assault, it is vital to understand the factors that influence decisions made by police and prosecutors and how these decisions overlap. Although decisions made at the prosecutorial stage are largely reliant on the actions of the police, the prosecutors’ charging decisions often differ from how the police classify incidents. Guided by the focal concerns perspective, this study examined 231 cases of adult sexual assault incidents reported to the police to identify which factors were predictive of congruent charging decisions and arrest. The results supported the focal concerns perspective and revealed that legal and extralegal factors were influential at both of these points. Legally relevant factors that focused on the collection of evidence were paramount in decisions at both stages; however, extralegal variables such as timely reporting and whether the victim physically resisted were also significantly related to decisions at each stage. Implications arising from the results are discussed.

Examining the Interaction of Race and Probationer Noncompliance on Sanctioning Decisions

2019 ◽  
pp. 215336871987302
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Romain ◽  
Amber E. Krushas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Racial Disparity ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective ◽  
Relevant Factors ◽  
Domestic Violence Courts

Much of the prior literature on racial disparity has focused on sentencing decisions, with recent studies examining possible interactions between defendant race and legally relevant factors. Many defendants serve their sentences within the community, yet less is known about decision-making when probationers are noncompliant with the conditions of their sentence. Rooted in the focal concerns perspective and congruence to stereotypes framework, this study examines whether noncompliance issues are moderated by probationer race in predicting the likelihood of a jail sanction. A sample of 302 review hearings from domestic violence courts was included for analysis. Results demonstrate that several noncompliance issues influenced sanctioning, independent of race; no significant interactions were found. Implications for probation decision-making are discussed.

Focal Concerns and Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199128
Author(s):  
David S. Lapsey ◽  
Bradley A. Campbell ◽  
Bryant T. Plumlee
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Campbell Collaboration ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Sexual assault and case attrition at the arrest stage are serious problems in the United States. Focal concerns have increasingly been used to explain police decision making in sexual assault cases. Because of the popularity of the focal concerns perspective and potential to inform evidence-based training, a systematic review and meta-analysis are needed to condense the literature. In this study, we assess the overall strength of the relationship between focal concerns variables and police decisions to arrest in cases of sexual assault. Our assessment of the effects of focal concerns variables on arrest decision making in sexual assault cases followed the systematic review protocols provided by the Campbell Collaboration of Systematic Reviews. Specifically, we used the Campbell Collaboration recommendations to search empirical literature and used meta-analysis to evaluate the size, direction, and strength of the impact of focal concerns variables on arrest decisions. Our search strategy detected 14 eligible studies and 79 effect sizes. The meta-analysis found several robust and statistically significant correlates of arrest. In fact, each focal concerns concept produced at least one robust arrest correlate. Overall, focal concerns offers a strong approach for explaining police decisions in sexual assault cases. Although practical concerns and resource constraints produced the strongest arrest correlates, results show the importance of additional case characteristics in officers’ decision to arrest.

A Focal Concerns Perspective on Prosecutorial Decision Making in Cases of Intimate Partner Stalking

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-748
Author(s):  
Patrick Q. Brady ◽  
Bradford W. Reyns
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Additional Insight ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective ◽  
Stalking Victims

Despite millions of stalking victims contacting the police each year, suspects are rarely arrested or prosecuted. While prosecutors are ultimately the gatekeepers to holding defendants accountable, few studies have examined the factors influencing charging decisions in stalking cases. Using the focal concerns perspective, this study analyzed 5 years of domestic violence and stalking case outcomes in Rhode Island. Findings indicated that prosecutors were more likely to prosecute stalking cases when defendants evoked fear in the victim and pursued victims in public. The decision to prosecute stalking versus other domestic violence–related charges was motivated by the location of the offense and the defendant’s history of physical abuse toward the victim. Neither extralegal factors nor characteristics of blameworthiness or suspect culpability influenced prosecutorial decision making. Findings underscore the legal complexities of stalking and suggest the need for additional insight on prosecutorial perspectives and strategies to articulate the fear standard in stalking cases.

Unfounded, Cleared, or Cleared by Exceptional Means: Sexual Assault Case Outcomes From 1999 to 2014

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051987671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Venema ◽  
Katherine Lorenz ◽  
Nicole Sweda
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Case Files ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
Sexual Assault Case

Sexual assault is a highly underreported crime with even fewer cases proceeding to the point of charges and prosecution, suggesting that sexual assault victims have less opportunity for legal justice than other crime victims. Case attrition may, in part, be due to negative attitudes and rape myth acceptance (RMA) in police decision making. Yet, little attention has been paid to examining the evidentiary and extralegal factors surrounding the case that contribute to police decision making and case outcomes through examination of police case files. This examination is necessary to address the issue of differential processing of sexual assault cases in the criminal justice system. This study uses police data of sexual assault case files from 1999 to 2014 ( N = 23,525) to examine the assault, victim, and detective characteristics that contribute to case outcomes of unfounded, cleared, and exceptionally cleared through arrest and victim refusal to prosecute. Logistic regression models tested 15 years of reported sexual assault data from one large police department and found that elements that correspond with RMA were predictive of unfounded, cleared, and exceptionally cleared case decisions, providing further indication that officers consider evidentiary but also extralegal factors in decision making. Overall, results support previous contentions that sexual assault victims have unequal access to legal justice, particularly victims possessing demographic and assault characteristics that do not align with stereotypical notions of rape. Implications for future research and policing practices are discussed.

Victim Reporting Behaviors Following Identity Theft Victimization: Results From the National Crime Victimization Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 814-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradford W. Reyns ◽  
Ryan Randa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
National Crime Victimization Survey ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Victimization Survey ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Justice Theories

The current study investigates the decision by victims to report the crime to the police following identity theft victimization. Potential influences on the reporting decision are framed around two criminal justice theories—focal concerns theory and Gottfredson and Gottfredson’s theory of criminal justice decision making. The data used to examine this decision were collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults as a supplement to the 2012 National Crime Victimization Survey. Results suggest that the decision to contact law enforcement is based on the seriousness of the offense, the victim’s knowledge of who committed the crime and how it was perpetrated, as well as practical considerations. These findings parallel other research into victim decision making generally, while also highlighting factors that may be unique to identity theft, notably the effects of income. The results also support the use of criminal justice theory to study and understand victim decision making.

Creating a More Complete and Current Picture

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 525-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan A. Alderden ◽  
Sarah E. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
High Attrition Rate

This study sought to identify factors that predicted outcomes for sexual assault cases involving female victims across several decision-making points and compare these findings to prior studies. The results indicate that there continues to be a high attrition rate in the handling of sexual assault cases. Only 9.7% of cases examined resulted in charges. In regards to processing decisions, most of the factors that predicted whether cases were founded, resulted in arrest, presented to the prosecution, or resulted in felony charges were extralegal factors. One factor appeared to influence several decision-making points: whether officers noted discrepancies in victim statements.

To Report or Not to Report? A Focal Concerns Analysis of Victim Reporting Decisions Following Victimization

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110453
Author(s):  
Shamika M. Kelley ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Eryn Nicole O’Neal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Private Location ◽  
Victim Reporting ◽  
Victim Support ◽  
Reporting Decisions ◽  
Criminal Legal System ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective

Sexual assault (SA) decision-making literature primarily focuses on criminal-legal actors and often overlooks victim decision making. This relative dearth in research is problematic, as victims are principal gatekeepers of the criminal-legal process who influence whether perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted. Subsequent victim support is also contingent on the reporting decision. Overall, this body of research would benefit from a better understanding of how victims activate and participate with the criminal-legal system and the potential impact of these decisions on criminal-legal processes. Moreover, victim decision making is often situated in a theoretical analyses. Victim decision making is complex and should be studied within a criminological decision-making framework. Therefore, the current study relies on National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data and applies a focal concerns perspective (FCP), informed by rape culture concepts, to examine why victims of sexual violence may or may not choose to report to legal authorities. The current study offers initial support for the application of FCP to victim reporting decisions. We found that victims consider each of the focal concerns (FC). Victims were more likely to report when offenders threatened them with harm (i.e., suspect blameworthiness), when the offense occurred in a private location (i.e., protection of the community), and when they sought help from victim support agencies or medical treatment (i.e., practical considerations). Additionally, we found that Black victims were more likely to report than other racial-ethnic groups (i.e., perceptual shorthand). These findings highlight a nexus between reporting to police and help-seeking via support agencies. Importantly, the results emphasize the importance for police to implement cultural competence and antiracist training to better support Black victims.

Predictors of Juvenile Court Actions and Recidivism

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin I. Minor ◽  
David J. Hartmann ◽  
Sue Terry
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
Juvenile Justice Policy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Relevant Factors

Variables related to court decision making and recidivism over a two-year follow-up were studied in a group of 475 first-time referrals to a juvenile court. Recidivism was associated with extralegal factors more consistently than were court actions except on the age variable. Court actions were more strongly related to legally relevant factors and, like the referral offense variable, failed to predict recidivism. The court's extensive and repeated reliance on diversion (vs. formal petitioning of cases) did not generate high recidivism levels, implying a need to reconsider the recent “get tough” orientation of juvenile justice policy.

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