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Showing 1 – 7 of 7 results.

Curated

Assessing Police Officers' Decision Making and Discretion in Making Traffic Stops in Savannah, Georgia, 2002 (ICPSR 4340)

Released/updated on: 2006-01-16

Geographic coverage: Savannah, United States, Georgia

Time period: 2002-04-01--2002-11-01

This study aimed to fill a void in the research regarding police behavior by focusing on the formation and creation of cognitive suspicion by officers. The study also examined formal actions (stops) taken by the police pursuant to that suspicion. The study was conducted using observational research methods and collected quantitative and qualitative data on officer suspicion. Data were collected by observers who rode along with patrol officers from April 2002 to November 2002. Field observers used three major data collection instruments in order to gather as much relevant information as possible from a variety of sources and in diverse situations. The Officer Form was an overall evaluation of the officer's decision-making characteristics, Suspicion Forms captured information each time an incident occurred, and a Suspect Form was a compilation of data from the citizen who had the encounter with the officer. Additional documents included informed consent forms, a card detailing the language to be used for the initial contact with citizens, and hourly activity forms. Anytime a suspicion was formed or a formal action was taken after a suspicion was formed, the observer debriefed the officer as to his or her thoughts and elicited the officer's overall rating of the encounter. Data in this collection include general demographic characteristics of the officer and the suspect, as well as the area in which the suspicion was formed. Data was also gathered regarding what led the officer to form a suspicion, and why a person was or was not stopped.

Curated

Simple Crosstabs

Evidence, Sexual Assaults, and Case Outcomes: Understanding the Role of Sexual Assault Kits, Non-Forensic Evidence, and Case Characteristics, 2015-2017 (ICPSR 37261)

Released/updated on: 2020-03-31

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2015-01-01--2017-01-01

This project examined the role of sexual assault medical forensic exams (sexual assault kits) and other case characteristics in achieving investigative and prosecutorial outcomes in sexual assault cases. The study team conducted comprehensive reviews of over 500 sexual assault cases based on reports to police to identify evidence and case characteristics as they progress through case processing. Using statistical models, the study team predicted case outcomes using a variety of case, suspect, and victim characteristics, with a focus on the role of sexual assault exams and kits. Additionally, the study team interviewed key stakeholders in each site to supplement the case-level information, including law enforcement, prosecutors, representatives from victim service agencies, and sexual assault nurse examiners.

Curated

Partially restricted

Influence of Eyewitness Memory Factors on Plea Bargaining Decisions by Prosecution and Defense Attorneys in California, 2010-2011 (ICPSR 32181)

Released/updated on: 2012-07-31

Geographic coverage: United States, California

Time period: 2010-01-01--2011-01-01

The purpose of the study was to assess how the strength of eyewitness evidence affects plea bargaining decisions by prosecutors and defense attorneys. Surveys were administered to 93 defense attorneys and 46 prosecutors from matched counties in California. On the questionnaire, each participant was asked four background questions and read four versions of a crime scenario in which two specific eyewitness factors -- (a) same- versus cross-race identification and (b) prior contact or not -- were experimentally manipulated in a factorial design. The scenarios described a store robbery in which identification by one eyewitness was the only evidence against the defendant. After reading each scenario, attorneys were asked to respond to five questions in light of the facts presented. The study contains 28 variables including background data on the study participants and responses to questions relating to four crime scenarios that differ in terms of the details of the eyewitness evidence.

Curated

Restricted

Injury Evidence, Forensic Evidence and the Prosecution of Sexual Assault, United States, 2005-2011 (ICPSR 36608)

Released/updated on: 2018-04-23

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 2005-01-01--2011-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This project explored the use and impact of injury evidence and biological evidence through a study of the role of these forms of evidence in prosecuting sexual assault in an urban district attorney's office in a metropolitan area in the eastern United States. The research questions addressed in this summary overview were as follows:

How frequent were different forms of injury evidence and biological evidence in the sample?
Is the presence of injury evidence and biological evidence correlated with the presence of other forms of evidence?
Which types of cases and case circumstances are more likely to yield injury evidence and biological evidence?
Do the presence of injury evidence and biological evidence predict criminal justice outcomes, taking into account the effects of other predictors?
In what ways do prosecutors use injury evidence and biological evidence and what is their appraisal of their impact on case outcomes?

The collection contains 1 SPSS data file, DataArchiveFile_InjuryEvidenceForensicEvidenceandthe ProsecutionofSexualAssault4-7-17.sav (n=257; 417 variables).

The qualitative data files were excluded from deposit with ICPSR and are not available as part of this data collection at this time.

Curated

Partially restricted

Simple Crosstabs

National Survey of Eyewitness Identification Procedure in Law Enforcement Agencies, 1994-2012 (ICPSR 34274)

Released/updated on: 2014-03-07

Geographic coverage: United States

Time period: 1994-01-01--2012-01-01

The data results from a study conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) designed to obtain the first nationwide assessment of the state of the criminal justice field regarding eyewitness identification procedures used by law enforcement agencies. PERF designed and conducted a survey of 619 police departments across the United States. The study focused on the departments training and policy when conducting eyewitness identification; particularly the study examined the use of "blind" administrators and the use of simultaneous or sequential presentation to the witness. The number of lineup members, witness instructions, police training, number of witness viewings and recording of the witness statements were also examined. A pilot test of the survey was conducted prior to the study.

Curated

Restricted

The Role and Impact of Forensic Evidence on the Criminal Justice System, 2004-2008 [United States] (ICPSR 33462)

Released/updated on: 2017-03-30

Geographic coverage: San Diego, United States, Colorado, Denver, California, Florida, Miami

Time period: 2004-01-01--2006-01-01, 2005-01-01--2008-01-01

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

This collection includes data gathered through three separate study designs. The first study called for tracking cases and forensic evidence through local criminal justice processes for five offenses: homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery and burglary. Two sites, Denver, Colorado, and San Diego, California, participated in the study. Demographic data were collected on victims (Victim Data n = 7,583) and defendants (Defendant Data n = 2,318). Data on forensic evidence collected at crime scenes included DNA material (DNA Evidence Data n = 1,894), firearms evidence (Ballistics Evidence Data n = 488), latent prints (Latent Print Evidence Data n = 766), trace evidence (Other Impressions Evidence Data n = 49), and drug evidence (Drug Evidence Data n = 43). Comparisons were then made between open and closed cases from the participating sites. Two smaller studies were conducted as part of this grant. The second study was an analysis of an experiment in the Miami-Date, Florida Police Department (Miami-Data County Data n = 1,421) to determine whether clearance rates for no-suspect property crimes could be improved through faster processing of DNA evidence. The third study was a survey of 75 police departments across the nation (Crime Labs Survey Data) to obtain information on the organizational placement, staffing and responsibilities of crime lab units.

Curated

Restricted

Understanding Familial DNA: National Study of Policies, Procedures, and Potential Impact, 2014 (ICPSR 36810)

Released/updated on: 2018-03-01

Geographic coverage: United States

Seeking to measure the usage of Familial DNA Searching (FDS) to aid in criminal investigations, this study utilized a multi-phase, mixed methods approach to obtain data on FDS policies and practices in the United States. This study includes data from the National Survey of CODIS Laboratories, which was compiled after two expert roundtables, a literature and policy scan of practice, cost modeling, and state case studies.

The study includes one SPSS data file: FDS_National_Survey_of_CODIS_Labs_Data.sav