Detectives’ Descriptions of Their Responses to Sexual Assault Cases and Victims: Assessing the Overlap Between Rape Myths and Focal Concerns

2022 ◽  
pp. 109861112110375
Author(s):  
Suzanne St. George ◽  
Megan Verhagan ◽  
Cassia Spohn
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Rape Myths ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Sexual Assault Case ◽  
Do So

Increasing just responses to sexual assault requires understanding how police perceive sexual assault cases and victims, and which legal (e.g., evidence), extralegal (e.g., suspect characteristics), and practical (e.g., convictability) concerns influence their responses in these cases. Using interview data collected in the Los Angeles Sexual Assault Study, we qualitatively analyzed 611 comments made by 52 detectives in response to questions about case processing decisions (e.g., what it takes to arrest) to examine the factors detectives described as relevant to their assessments of allegations as legitimate, victims as credible, and cases as chargeable. Results revealed overlap between rape myths and legal, extralegal, and practical concerns. Specifically, comments referenced rape myths in relation to suspect blameworthiness and dangerousness, evidence, victim cooperation, and prosecutors’ decisions. Comments also revealed some detectives lacked knowledge of relevant legal statutes and case processing guidelines (e.g., unfound criteria). These results suggest that sexual assault case attrition stems from an orientation to prosecutors’ charging criteria rather than probable cause, and organizational factors, such as deprioritization of sex crimes investigations. We recommend that departments adequately staff and equip sex crimes units with investigatory resources and prioritize sex crimes investigations over non-violent crimes. Departments should incentivize sex crimes assignments and screen applicants for quality, experience, and bias. Detectives in these units should undergo regular trainings on unfounding and probable cause criteria and should be required to make arrests when they have probable cause to do so.

“A Rape Is a Rape, Regardless of What the Victim Was Doing at the Time”: Detective Views on How “Problematic” Victims Affect Sexual Assault Case Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-44
Author(s):  
Eryn Nicole O’Neal ◽  
Brittany E. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Sexual Assault Case ◽  
Officer Attitudes ◽  
Depth Interviews

Research finds that “problematic” victim behaviors—for example, alcohol consumption—influence sexual assault case outcomes. Questions remain, however, regarding officer perceptions of what constitutes a problematic victim and how these victims complicate case processing. Indeed, most case processing research has relied on quantitative methods and inquiry into officer attitudes has primarily relied on the use of vignettes. Using data from in-depth interviews with 52 Los Angeles Police Department sex crimes detectives, we examine attitudes toward problematic victims. Overall, we aim to determine whether rape culture beliefs and efforts to operate in a “downstream orientation” influence detective views regarding victims who have been deemed problematic.

It All Just Piles Up: Challenges to Victim Credibility Accumulate to Influence Sexual Assault Case Processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (15) ◽  
pp. 3151-3170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Schaefer Morabito ◽  
April Pattavina ◽  
Linda M. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Decision Point ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Sexual Assault Case ◽  
Sheriff's Department

The underreporting of sexual assault is well known to researchers, practitioners, and victims. When victims do report, their complaints are unlikely to end in arrest or prosecution. Existing research on police discretion suggests that the police decision to arrest for sexual assault offenses can be influenced by a variety of legal and extra-legal factors particularly challenges to victim credibility. Although extant literature examines the effects of individual behaviors on police outcomes, less is known about how the accumulation of these behaviors, attributions, and characteristics affects police decision making. Using data collected from the Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff’s Department, we examine one police decision point—the arrest to fill this gap in the literature. First, we examine the extent to which the effects of potential challenges to victim credibility, based on victim characteristics and behaviors, influence the arrest decision, and next, how these predictors vary across circumstances. Specifically, we examine how factors that challenge victim credibility affect the likelihood of arrest in sexual assault cases where the victim and offender are strangers, acquaintances, and intimate partners.

The Decision to Arrest in Sexual Assault Case Processing: A Test of Black’s Theory of the Behavior of Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1141-1163
Author(s):  
Norah Ylang ◽  
Kristy Holtfreter
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Legal Mobilization ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Behavior Of Law ◽  
Sexual Assault Case ◽  
Justice Practice ◽  
The Behavior Of Law

Past research applying Donald Black’s theory of the behavior of law to sexual assault case processing has focused on victim decisions to report the crime to the police. This study builds on and extends prior research by examining the next stage of legal mobilization (i.e., arrest). Using secondary data on 310 cases from the 1982-2012 Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Study in Los Angeles, California, the current study explores the effects of victim, offender, and case characteristics on arrest. The results suggest limited support for the theory in this victimization context. Implications for theory, research, and criminal justice practice are discussed.

“Most [False Reports] Involve Teens”: Officer Attitudes Toward Teenage Sexual Assault Complainants—A Qualitative Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-45
Author(s):  
Eryn Nicole O’Neal ◽  
Brittany E. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Officer Attitudes ◽  
Practical Implications

Scholars, advocates, and victims have repeatedly criticized the police treatment of sexual assault (SA) complainants. Apathetic attitudes and hostile behavior on the part of the police have likely resulted from socialization into a culture that condones the use of force and violence and blames SA victims for their victimization. Using data from in-depth semistructured interviews with 52 Los Angeles Police Department sex crimes detectives, we examine officer attitudes toward teenage complainants of SA. Notably, almost three fourths of the respondents ( n = 38; 73%) mentioned that teenagers lie about SA. Practical implications, theoretical advancements, and directions for future research are discussed.

Identification, Corroboration, and Charging: Examining the Use of DNA Evidence by Prosecutors in Sexual Assault Cases

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tri Keah S. Henry ◽  
Alicia L. Jurek
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Dna Evidence ◽  
Biological Evidence ◽  
Sexual Assault Case

This study examines the influence of DNA evidence on prosecutorial decisions in sexual assault cases. Thirty-eight prosecutors experienced with prosecuting sexual violence cases were surveyed regarding the use of biological evidence in sexual assault cases, including the ways in which it is generally used, the cases in which it is most critical to have, and factors impacting case attrition. Results indicate that prosecutors perceive DNA evidence to be extremely valuable in prosecuting sexual assault cases. Several themes related to the perspective, context, process, and conditions under which DNA evidence plays a vital role in sexual assault case processing are identified.

The case processing of intimate partner sexual assault: a brief review and recommendations for future research

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-288
Author(s):  
Eryn Nicole O’Neal ◽  
Brittany E. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Victim Satisfaction ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Sexual Assault Case

Research examining legal responses to violence against women has historically dichotomised sexual assault and intimate partner violence, leaving unanswered questions regarding criminal justice responses to intimate partner violence incidents that involve sexual violence. Although research has examined whether cases involving partners, acquaintances or strangers are handled differently, few scholars consider the specific factors that undermine intimate partner sexual assault case processing. The current article guides future intimate partner sexual assault case-processing research with the hopes of filling this research void. Understanding intimate partner sexual assault case processing is necessary so that police, prosecutors and practitioners can use research-based approaches to increase victim satisfaction and decrease attrition.

Beyond Forensic Evidence: Examining Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Exam Mechanisms that Influence Sexual Assault Case Outcomes

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052096187
Author(s):  
Emily Tiry ◽  
Janine Zweig ◽  
Kelly Walsh ◽  
Lauren Farrell ◽  
Lilly Yu
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Sexual Assault Case ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Criminal Case Processing

Despite the widespread use of sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAMFEs), practitioners and researchers continue to debate the role of SAMFEs and the evidence they provide in the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases. Using data from a review of sexual assault cases reported to police between 2015 and 2017 in two jurisdictions ( n = 534), we use logistic regression examine whether the presence of a SAMFE predicts the likelihood of achieving criminal case processing outcomes and whether the relationship of the SAMFE with criminal case processing outcomes is moderated by other legal and extralegal case characteristics. We did not find evidence that the presence of a SAMFE in a case significantly predicts whether a suspect will be identified, arrested, or convicted overall, but we did find evidence of the SAMFE’s injury documentation value for arrest. Researchers and practitioners should account for the multiple ways SAMFEs can influence decision-making in future research and policymaking.

scholarly journals Data driven optimization of sexual assault case processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 164-172
Author(s):  
M. Bazinet ◽  
J. Larose ◽  
S. Noël ◽  
J. Comte ◽  
M. Primeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Sexual Assault Case
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