High rates of sexual assault kit submission and the important role of place

Shaw, Jessica; Coates, Victoria; Janulis, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101671

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Similarly low SAK submission rates were documented by Valentine and colleagues across four sites in single state, as only 38% of SAKs collected at health care facilities were submitted by police to a crime lab for forensic DNA testing (Valentine et al, 2016, 2019). Higher rates of SAK submission rates (59%–90%) have been documented in communities with strong sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs and sexual assault response teams (SARTs; Patterson & Campbell, 2012; Shaw & Campbell, 2013; Shaw et al, in press). Clearly, lab capacity is a structural barrier to accessing this critical resource, but it also appears that interagency collaboration and coordination may affect how these limited resources are utilized.…”

Section: Understanding the Role Of Crime Laboratories In The Criminal...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Just Bring Us the Real Ones”: The Role of Forensic Crime Laboratories in Guarding the Gateway to Justice for Sexual Assault Victims

Campbell

Fehler-Cabral²

2020

J Interpers Violence

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Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also termed “rape kits”) have never been submitted by law enforcement personnel to a crime laboratory for forensic DNA testing. Prior research indicates that negative stereotypes about victims influence police decisions to submit kits for testing, but forensic crime laboratory personnel may also be involved in SAK submission decisions. The purpose of the current study was to explore the communication and collaboration between police and crime lab personnel regarding SAK submissions within a community with large numbers of unsubmitted rape kits. Drawing from 3 years of ethnographic observations and longitudinal qualitative interviews, we found that the police department’s crime lab did not have sufficient resources to test all rape kits in police custody, which is a problem forensic laboratories are facing throughout the United States. However, we also found that access to this limited resource was controlled by crime lab personnel and their rape myth beliefs about which victims and which cases were considered worthy of the time, effort, and attention of the criminal justice system. Lab personnel emphasized that police should only submit “real” cases for forensic DNA testing, which they typically defined as physically violent stranger-perpetrated sexual assaults; “shady” cases did not merit testing, which they defined as known-offender assaults, reports made by adolescent victims, and cases in which the victim may have been engaged in sex work. We noted marked similarities in police and lab personnel’s rape myth acceptance, and stakeholders readily agreed that they did have a common understanding about which victims were not credible and therefore which SAKs did not merit testing. We discuss these findings in light of recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences for the independence and autonomy of the forensic sciences from law enforcement.

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Section: Understanding the Role Of Crime Laboratories In The Criminal...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Just Bring Us the Real Ones”: The Role of Forensic Crime Laboratories in Guarding the Gateway to Justice for Sexual Assault Victims

Campbell

Fehler-Cabral²

2020

J Interpers Violence

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“…The Boston College Institutional Review Board determined use of these data for research to be exempt from institutional review board review given the nature of the data. These data were originally collected to examine sexual assault kit handling and submission rates in the focal state (Shaw et al, 2020) and were repurposed for this study. The sample consisted of PSCR data for all PSCR forms received by the state safety agency that met the following criteria: (a) the PSCR data corresponded to adult 1 sexual assault kits completed by medical providers in Massachusetts; (b) the medical forensic examination, including the collection of the sexual assault kit, took place between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015; (c) the corresponding sexual assault occurred within a single city in Massachusetts; (d) the PSCR form indicated that a sexual assault kit was completed or did not explicitly indicate that a sexual assault kit was not completed; and (e) the PSCR form indicated if the medical forensic examination was completed by a SANE or a non-SANE medical provider (i.e., this information was not missing).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency Contraception Administration, Toxicology Kit Use, and Postassault Reporting

Shaw

Coates

2021

Journal of Forensic Nursing

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Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) are specially trained to meet the postassault medical forensic needs of sexual assault patients. However, there remains a dearth of literature comparing directly postassault service provision and action in cases treated by SANEs as compared to non-SANE medical providers. In this study, we compare rates of emergency contraception administration, toxicology kit use, reports to police at the time of examination, and mandatory child abuse reports among n = 3,969 sexual assault cases treated by SANEs and non-SANE medical providers. Compared to cases treated by non-SANE medical providers, cases treated by SANEs were significantly more likely to have emergency contraception administered, less likely to have a toxicology kit collected, less likely to have a police report filed at the time of examination, and more likely to have a mandatory child abuse report filed. Observed patterns suggest that non-SANE medical providers may find it difficult to balance the needs of the criminal justice system with those of their patients, whereas SANEs provide a tailored, comprehensive first response. We discuss the importance of consistent, accurate documentation and clearly defined protocols in the medical forensic response to sexual assault patients.

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A Systematic Review of Sexual Assault Case Attrition in the United States from 2000 to 2020

Hoffman,

Patton,

Greeson

2024

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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This article systematically reviewed research findings of five sexual assault case outcomes (founding, arrest, referral to prosecution, charging, and conviction) between 2000 and 2020. Records were collected from PsychINFO and ProQuest and had to report at least one quantitative criminal justice outcome, include data from a U.S. sample and involve original research. Thirty-six records (288,066 sexual assault cases) were analyzed. Results were stratified by reported cases, referred cases, charged cases, and victim age. Studies show that 72.09% to 92.66% of sampled cases are founded ( M = 89.21%), 17.73% to 53.42% result in arrest ( M = 27.25%), 13.60% to 69.57% result in referral ( M = 31.36%), 3.28% to 83.16% result in charging ( M = 19.58%), and only 1.86% to 40.31% result in conviction ( M = 8.28%). This considerable variability in case outcomes is related to differences in cases included or excluded (e.g., age criterion, only sampling cases with sexual assault kits); thus, these studies are not reflective of all sexual assault cases. Studies were most likely to report arrest rates, followed by charging, referral, conviction, and founding. Overall, we have a good picture of what attrition looks like in adolescent-adult sexual assault cases from the 1980s to early 2010s in the Midwest and Southern CA. More updated research in the remaining parts of the country is needed, particularly from rural locales. Specific recommendations for more precise measurement and reporting methods are provided to improve our understanding of attrition and strengthen where, how, and with whom interventions are needed.

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High rates of sexual assault kit submission and the important role of place

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

“Just Bring Us the Real Ones”: The Role of Forensic Crime Laboratories in Guarding the Gateway to Justice for Sexual Assault Victims

“Just Bring Us the Real Ones”: The Role of Forensic Crime Laboratories in Guarding the Gateway to Justice for Sexual Assault Victims

Emergency Contraception Administration, Toxicology Kit Use, and Postassault Reporting

A Systematic Review of Sexual Assault Case Attrition in the United States from 2000 to 2020

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