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

Version Date: Apr 23, 2018

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Principal Investigator(s):
Theodore Cross, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Megan Alderden, Illinois Criminal Justice Authority

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36608.v1

Version V1

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Summary

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.

Citation

Cross, Theodore, and Alderden, Megan. Injury Evidence, Forensic Evidence and the Prosecution of Sexual Assault, United States, 2005-2011 . Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-04-23. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36608.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2013-NE-BX-0005)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

None

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reason for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2005 -- 2011

Date of Collection

2014 -- 2015

Data Collection Notes

  1. 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.

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

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Study Purpose

The purpose of this project was to study the use and value of physical and forensic evidence in the prosecution of criminally charged sexual assault cases and the relationship of these forms of evidence to criminal justice outcomes like guilty pleas, convictions and sentences.

Study Design

The study site was a major city in the eastern United States. The project analyzed case data from 257 cases of alleged sexual assault with adult or adolescent victims (Age 12 or older) that the police department referred to the District's Attorney's Office between 2005 and 2011. Data were abstracted from prosecutor paper files, from crime laboratory reports, and from documentation completed by medical examiners who conducted forensic medical examinations following the assault. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with eight Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs)in the District Attorney's office who had experience prosecuting sexual assault cases (not archived). Interviews aimed to obtain a better understanding of how prosecutors use injury evidence and biological evidence in prosecuting sexual assault and how they assessed the impact of these forms of evidence on case outcomes.

Sample

The sample frame consisted of all sexual assault cases with adult or adolescent victims (age 12 or older) in a metropolitan city in eastern Massachusetts that the police department for that city referred to the District Attorney's Office between 2005 and 2011. The years were selected to ensure adequate sample size and include cases that are relatively current but distant enough for a criminal justice disposition to be reached. A staff member of the Sexual Assault Unit of the Police Department compiled a list of police incident numbers of all such cases during this time period. This list was forwarded to the County District Attorney's Office, where a staff member located all cases on the list that had been referred to the D.A.'s Office and had case files available. Of 452 cases identified by the police department, 257 cases met study criteria and had case files maintained by the prosecutor's office.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Sexual assault cases in an urban district attorney's office in a metropolitan area in the eastern United States.

Unit(s) of Observation

Cases

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The collection includes one SPSS dataset:

  • DataArchiveFile_InjuryEvidenceForensicEvidenceandtheProsecutionofSexualAssault4-7-17.sav (n=257; 417 variables)

Variables include: victim demographics, suspect demographics, ways a suspect was identified, attack and assault specifics, number and nature of injuries , witness type (eyewitness or other), victim credibility, presence of physical evidence and evidence type, criminal charges, case outcomes and circumstances contributing to case outcomes, and PSCR (Provider Sexual Crime Report)information.

Response Rates

Not applicable

Presence of Common Scales

None

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Original Release Date

2018-04-23

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Weight

Not applicable

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Notes

  • 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.

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.