Pathways to Sexual Assault Case Attrition: Culture, Context, and Case Clearance
Sexual assault case attrition research has been consistent in documenting that sexual assault complaints fall out of the system at disturbing rates. In this article, we describe a pathway to attrition where managerial concerns incentivize case processing outcomes that remove cases early in the syste...
Authors: | ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
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In: |
Victims & offenders
Year: 2021, Volume: 16, Issue: 8, Pages: 1061-1076 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | Sexual assault case attrition research has been consistent in documenting that sexual assault complaints fall out of the system at disturbing rates. In this article, we describe a pathway to attrition where managerial concerns incentivize case processing outcomes that remove cases early in the system and scaffolds a decision-making context where rape myth adherence provides sustained rationalizations for closing cases. Using data on sexual assault incidents reported to the police, we present a quantitative analysis that investigates such a pathway to attrition that considers how police and prosecutors work together at the pre-arrest stage and the extent to which this practice facilitates the use of exceptional clearance police classification to close sexual assault investigations. |
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ISSN: | 1556-4991 |
DOI: | 10.1080/15564886.2021.1970661 |