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

A Qualitative Analysis of Victims' Perceptions of Procedural Justice for Sexual Victimization

Sexual violence is a prevalent crime that is heavily underreported. Police behaviors when responding to such crimes can influence decisions to report. Furthermore, there is a dearth of knowledge on the relationship between procedural justice tenets (e.g., dignity/respect, trustworthiness, fairness/neutrality, and having a voice) and survivors of sexual violence decisions to report. The current study uses 55 semistructured interviews with survivors of sexual violence across the United States to explore procedural justice tenets on individuals' decisions to report their victimization (or not). Findings underscore the importance for police to interact with survivors with tenets of dignity/respect. Practical implications are further discussed.

Jurors' perceptions of transgender victims of sexual assault: A literature review of empirical research and policy review of judicial instructions

Sexual assault affects many people of all gender identities, yet most cases do not result in conviction. This may be due to common, inaccurate misperceptions juries hold about how sexual assault is perpetrated and how victims respond to sexual assault. Research has examined misperceptions relating to cisgender victims, yet little is known about the unique misconceptions and stereotypes that may unfairly disadvantage transgender victims or whether courts are attempting to safeguard against them. This article presents a literature review of empirical research on (mock) jurors' perceptions of transgender victims and a review of judicial instructions about gender identity. We find that empirical research is extremely limited with mixed findings, but many jurisdictions allow for judicial instructions warning jurors against prejudice based on gender identity. Further research is urgently needed to identify common misperceptions jurors may have that are specific to transgender victims to inform legal safeguards and improve justice outcomes.

Does No Mean No? Situational and Dispositional Factors Influence Emerging Adult Men's Intentions to Use Assault Tactics in Response to Women's Sexual Refusal During Hookups

Hookups can result in sexual assault when men do not listen to requests from women to stop. It is thus important to identify factors that influence men's decisions to override direct refusals in these situations. Presently, we administered first-person vignettes depicting a prototypical hookup wherein the woman refuses the man's attempt to escalate intimacy. Using a national sample of emerging adult men (N = 420), we found that they on average did not completely rule out coercive or forcible tactics, but those elevated on rape myth acceptance, hypermasculinity, and psychopathy were uniquely at risk of assault when controlling for several other traits known to correlate with rape. Participants also reported being likelier to use coercive sexual practices when refusals occurred at higher levels of sexual intimacy already attained. Notably, diagnostic analyses revealed that a subset of men had a disproportionate influence on the regression estimates, and that these men were not only elevated across a range of assault-relevant traits, but also endorsed higher likelihoods of using coercion and force in the face of female sexual refusal. Although removal of these cases did not substantively alter the results, exploratory analyses revealed that these individuals responded differently to situational factors in ways that suggested sexual opportunism. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Silenced Survivors: A Systematic Review of the Barriers to Reporting, Investigating, Prosecuting, and Sentencing of Adult Female Rape and Sexual Assault

Sexual victimization of adult women remains an underreported crime. This systematic review identified and synthesized the barriers to reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and sentencing cases of sexual assault and rape against adult women in Western countries. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted on August 3, 2023, across databases including PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, ProQuest Central, Web of Science, MedNar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria provided relevant information on the decision not to formally disclose, investigate, prosecute, or convict incidents of sexual assault and rape of adult women. We included 28 studies and identified 70 barriers in total. Identified barriers were most prevalent to reporting, followed by investigating, prosecuting, and, lastly, sentencing. Key themes in the barriers included lack of trust in the criminal justice system, internal reactions, rape myths and societal norms, and perpetrator characteristics. The identified barriers emphasize an urgent need for reform of the criminal justice system's response to sexual assault and rape. Prioritizing victim-survivors' needs, enhancing transparency of the criminal justice system, and addressing attrition rates are crucial. Future studies need to engage with diverse population to address all victim-survivors' needs and provide further insights into the challenges across all stages of the criminal justice system to enhance the outcome of rape and sexual assault cases.

Visibility of inflicted bruises by alternate light: Results of a randomized controlled trial

Difficulty visualizing bruises resulting from interpersonal violence, especially in individuals with dark skin, contributes to disparities in access to justice. The purpose of this analysis was to compare bruise visibility of detected injuries using white light versus alternate light sources (ALS). Visibility was assessed using the 5-point Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS) for white light and the ALS Visibility Scale (AVS) for ALS. Bruises were induced using controlled application of a paintball to the upper arm on 157 healthy adults across six skin color categories. Using a crossover design, the light source used first to assess the bruise (white light or ALS) was randomized. Each bruise was examined up to 21 times over 4 weeks using white light and 10 combinations of wavelengths (350 nanometer [nm] - 535 nm) and colored filters (yellow, orange, and red). Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the repeated measures data with a total 20,103 bruise assessments. Results revealed 415 nm with yellow filter resulted in an almost 0.5-point increase in BVS/AVS score across all skin colors (Estimate = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.49; p < 0.001), a clinically significant improvement in ability to visualize bruises. Conversely, 515 nm (Estimate = -0.80; 95% CI: -0.84, -0.76; p < 0.001) and 535 nm (Estimate = -0.64, 95% CI: -0.67, -0.60; p < 0.001) with red filter resulted in more than 0.5-point decrease in BVS/AVS score. The use of ALS is supported by the data and results in improved bruise visibility during medical forensic examinations.

"That is Not Behavior Consistent With a Rape Victim": The Effects of Officer Displays of Doubt on Sexual Assault Case Processing and Victim Participation

Despite the prevalence and severity of sexual violence, case attrition has been identified as a significant issue. Of the cases that are reported to police, only a small portion result in arrest, prosecution, or conviction. Research has revealed that much of this attrition occurs early in the process and that a number of theoretically supported legal (e.g., physical evidence, victim participation) and extralegal (e.g., demographics, victim credibility) factors influence how and whether a case progresses through the criminal justice system. However, few researchers have directly examined the impact of officer doubt on case processing. Whereas legal and extralegal factors represent case characteristics, doubt represents officer cognition about these characteristics. These perceptions can affect how victims are treated, how police investigate the case, and ultimately, the case's progression through the system. A random sample of sexual assault reports from one police department in a medium-sized jurisdiction in the western U.S. was drawn to examine the expression of officer doubt, as well as its impact on victim participation, arrest, and referral for prosecution while controlling for relevant legal and extralegal factors. The findings suggest that officer doubt is an important consideration in sexual assault case processing, independent of other legal and extralegal factors, and that it significantly impacts the likelihood of arrest and referral for prosecution. Consistent with previous research, police decision-making was also impacted by certain legal factors. Victim participation was not directly affected by officer doubt but it was predicted by extralegal factors. Implications for future sexual assault research and practitioner training are discussed.

The Role and Impact of the Use of Information Technologies by Police in Response to Violence against Women

The last decade has witnessed an increased awareness of the crucial need to enhance police response and investigation of crimes related to violence against women (VAW). Although some research has been conducted on police decision-making in response to these crimes, there remains a dearth of knowledge concerning the influence of innovative police technologies on the investigative process and resulting case outcomes. This knowledge gap is particularly concerning given (1) the intricate nature and severity of VAW crimes and (2) the substantial advancements in technology that have transformed how the criminal justice system handles violent crime cases. To address this gap, the current study adopted a multi-method, quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of the Miami Police Department's Real-Time Crime Center (MRTCC) technologies on the case processing and case clearance of sexual assault and domestic violence incidents. The results of this study illuminate the distinctive features associated with this form of violent crime and underscore the necessity of continuously advancing the strategies employed to address these incidents.

What Predicts Out-of-Home Placement in Juvenile Court Dispositions? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Research suggests that juvenile court dispositions are influenced by legal factors, such as offense severity and prior record, as well as extralegal factors, such as race/ethnicity, sex, and age. To date, however, no research has reviewed whether legal or extralegal factors are more predictive of juvenile court dispositions across extant research. To address this gap, the present study reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of predictors of residential placement in the juvenile justice system. A total of 40 independent samples were analyzed from 33 studies that met the criteria for inclusion in the review. Meta-analytic techniques were used to examine the average effects of offense characteristics, prior record, age, preadjudication detention status, race and ethnicity, sex, and contextual factors on odds of placement. The findings suggest that legal factors are more strongly associated with juvenile court dispositions than extralegal or contextual factors. Additionally, the strongest predictor of placement was whether the juvenile defendant had been detained at intake, illustrating the influential role of early case assessment in juvenile court.

Criminological scoping reviews as part of a student assignment: methodological considerations

In this article we reflect on the use of a scoping review method in the course of a student assignment. In total, 24 scoping reviews were conducted on police research topics, following the same procedure with similar yet topic-specific review protocols. We discuss each of the eight phases of the scoping review method and provide examples and good practices on how to conduct these steps. We also focus on difficulties that were experienced and how to overcome them in future scoping reviews. The aim of this article is twofold: providing criminological examples of scoping reviews that can help define new scoping review protocols and avoid difficulties experienced in these reviews on the one hand, and reflecting on students’ participation in the assignment on the other hand to stimulate involving students in scoping review projects more often.