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...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pattavina, April (Author) ; Morabito, Melissa S. (Author) ; Williams, Linda M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
In: Victims & offenders
Year: 2021, Volume: 16, Issue: 8, Pages: 1061-1076
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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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.
ISSN:1556-4991
DOI:10.1080/15564886.2021.1970661