Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: Replication Research on Sexual Violence Case Attrition in the United States, 2006-2012 (ICPSR 37181)
Version Date: Apr 29, 2019 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Melissa Morabito, University of Massachusetts at Lowell;
Linda Meyer Williams, Wellesley Centers for Women;
April Pattavina, University of Massachusetts at Lowell
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37181.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for 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.
The study contains data on sexual assault cases reported to the police for the years 2006-2012, collected from six police agencies and also their corresponding public prosecutor's offices across the United States. The study analyzed the attrition of sexual assault cases from the criminal justice system.
This study includes two SPSS data files:
- Court-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav (801 variables, 417 cases)
- Police-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav (1,276 variables, 3,269 cases)
This study also includes two SPSS syntax files:
- ICPSR-Court-Form-Variable-Construction-2008-2010.sps
- ICPSR-Constructed-Variables-Syntax.sps
The study also contains qualitative data which are not available as part of this data collection at this time. The qualitative data includes interviews, field observations, and focus groups which were conducted with key personnel to examine organizational and cultural dimensions of handling sexual assault cases in order to understand how these factors influence case outcomes.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
police jurisdiction
Restrictions View help for 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) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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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 is needed.
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The qualitative data are not available as part of this data collection at this time.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The study was undertaken to replicate research on sexual assault case attrition at six sites across the country.
Study Design View help for Study Design
Court-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav
Half of the six sites provided detailed prosecutor case files; for the other sites, publicly available court records were relied upon.
Police-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav
From each of the six sites, detailed case records on the population of reported and attempted rape cases (with victims over age 12) were obtained to provide in-depth understanding of the dynamics of sexual assault cases.
Qualitative Data
Interviews, field observations, and focus groups were conducted with police, prosecutors, and victims service providers to examine organizational and cultural dimensions of handling sexual assault cases in order to understand how these factors influence case outcomes. The qualitative data are not available as part of this data collection at this time.
Sample View help for Sample
Researchers purposively selected study sites from different regions of the U.S. (Northeast, South, and West) and from within those, researchers selected urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions and those that represented diverse police organizational factors and populations served.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Female victims (over the age of 12) of sexual assault, reported to the police in six jurisdictions from 2006-2012
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
Court-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav
This data includes information such as the use of bail, type and number of offenses, prior arrests/convictions, number of hearings, whether there was a trial, and case outcomes.
Police-Form-2008-2010-Sample-Revised-Nov-2018.sav
This data includes information on victim, offender, relationship (if any), and case characteristics such as consent, number of suspects, evidence collected, date and reporting of incident, where offense took place, weapons, use of alcohol/drugs, actual offense, previous offenses by suspect, use of violence, case clearance.
HideNotes
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.