Race and the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: A Systematic Review

Shaw, Jessica; Lee, Haenim

doi:10.1002/ajcp.12334

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Advocates were almost always present at exams to support patients, which could have impacted patients’ reporting decisions (Campbell, 2006). This sample was also mostly White non-Hispanic, which meant all patients who were non-White and/or Hispanic were combined for analyses, limiting the ability to examine whether race and ethnicity were associated with law enforcement reporting (Shaw & Lee, 2019). Males were also excluded from analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Associated With Law Enforcement Reporting in Patients Presenting for Medical Forensic Examinations

Downing

Adams

Bogue

2020

J Interpers Violence

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Law enforcement reporting following sexual assault is lower than for other violent crimes. Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) provide care for patients in the acute period following sexual assault and are well-positioned to identify and address barriers to reporting. We examined data from medical forensic examination records documented by SANEs for a 5-year period (2011–2015). We examined 347 records of women 18 and older to identify factors associated with law enforcement reporting at the time of the exam using binomial logistic regression to construct odds ratios (OR). A total of 56.5% of patients in the sample reported to law enforcement. Patients who did not voluntarily consume alcohol were more likely to report than those who did (OR = 4.45; p = .001). Patients who were not students were more likely to report than students (OR = 3.24; p = .002). Patients who had a medical forensic exam within 32 hr of the assault were more likely to report than those having exams after 32 hr (OR = 2.68; p = .007). Patients who had anogenital and/or bodily injuries were more likely to report than those who had no injuries (OR = 2.50; p = .008). Patients who were penetrated (vaginally, orally, and/or anally) were more likely to report than those who were not penetrated (OR = 2.50; p = .056). Knowing the assailant, having multiple assailants, and patient and assailant race/ethnicity were not associated with different likelihood of reporting to law enforcement. SANEs and others who work with victims of sexual assault can use data to understand and address barriers to reporting.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Associated With Law Enforcement Reporting in Patients Presenting for Medical Forensic Examinations

Downing

Adams

Bogue

2020

J Interpers Violence

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“…The United States criminal justice system has a long history of not investigating and prosecuting the crime of sexual assault, as <3% of reported assaults result in a conviction (Lonsway & Archambault, 2012; Shaw & Lee, 2019; Spohn, 2020). Survivors consistently describe their experiences reporting to the police as re‐traumatizing and hurtful as they endure victim‐blaming questions about their credibility, integrity, and character (Kaiser et al, 2017; Morabito, Pattavina, & Williams, 2019; Spohn, White, & Tellis, 2014; Tasca et al, 2013; Venema, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: An Empirical Study of a Participatory Action Research Project

Campbell

Fehler-Cabral²,

Pierce

et al. 2020

American J of Comm Psychol

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In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.

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“…As such, it is not surprising to see overrepresentation of Black/African American men in official criminal history records. At the same time, most sexual assaults are intraracial (see Shaw & Lee, 2019, for a review), and the vast majority of the victims associated with these untested SAKs are Black/African American women (see Campbell et al, 2015). Thus, our data may reflect not only the overpolicing of Black/African American men, but also the underpolicing of crimes committed against Black/African American women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A window of opportunity: Examining the potential impact of mandatory sexual assault kit (SAK) testing legislation on crime prevention.

Campbell¹,

Pierce²,

Goodman‐Williams³

et al. 2022

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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Large stockpiles of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs; or “rape kits”) have been found in police departments throughout the United States. SAKs contain biological evidence (semen, saliva, and blood) that can be analyzed for DNA to inform investigations and prosecutions. However, when SAKs are not tested, it is less likely offenders will be held accountable and they may commit additional crimes. Given the utility of SAK evidence in protecting public safety, a growing number of states are passing mandatory SAK testing laws. In this study, we tracked a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs collected in Detroit, MI to explore what crimes might have been prevented, based on mandates in the Michigan Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act (2014). For our first research question (Did the rate of offending increase from before to after a SAK could have been tested?), the analyses revealed significant escalation in criminal activity over time. These offenders committed five additional crimes (on average) after their earliest-known SAK could have been tested (range 0–49 crimes), including other sexual assaults, physical assaults, and homicides. For our second research question (Are multiple crimes committed by a subset of repeat offenders?), the results indicated most of this criminal activity was linked to a subset of prolific offenders. For our third research question (How many of these criminal incidents could have been feasibly prevented by timely testing?), the analyses documented that up to 320 additional sexual assaults, plus over a thousand other violent crimes, might have been prevented with timely SAK testing.

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Race and the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: A Systematic Review

Cited by 26 publications

References 48 publications

Factors Associated With Law Enforcement Reporting in Patients Presenting for Medical Forensic Examinations

Factors Associated With Law Enforcement Reporting in Patients Presenting for Medical Forensic Examinations

Changing the Criminal Justice System Response to Sexual Assault: An Empirical Study of a Participatory Action Research Project

A window of opportunity: Examining the potential impact of mandatory sexual assault kit (SAK) testing legislation on crime prevention.

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