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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:20 pm
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Results for sexual assault (u.s.)
5 results foundAuthor: Peterson, Joseph Title: Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Study Summary: Sexual assault is one of the most serious crimes facing society and, over the past several decades, increasing attention has been paid to the proper collection of physical evidence from victims to document and reconstruct the crime, to identify the assailant, and to aid in the prosecution of the assailant. When victims report such offenses to the police and are examined at hospitals, medical personnel employ sexual assault kits and accompanying protocols to guide the collection of evidence from the victim. Sexual assault kit (SAK) report forms also record important information from the victim about activities prior to, during and after the assault. Given the likely transfer of biological secretions in such crimes, sexual assault kits and DNA evidence have the power to verify the crime and pinpoint the identity of the assailant. The probative value of such scientific evidence, however, depends largely on the circumstances of the particular case, being pivotal in one instance and less important in another. Although law enforcement agencies and hospitals have greatly improved and expanded procedures to gather sexual assault kit evidence, scientific resources and procedures to test such evidence have not kept pace. The National Institute of Justice staff, researchers and investigative journalists have uncovered the fact that backlogged and untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) are a major problem facing forensic crime laboratories and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. The combined untested SAKs from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reached 10,895 cases in the fall of 2008. As the result of growing public concern, Human Rights Watch undertook a study in Los Angeles to document reasons behind the accumulation of these untested kits and found a number of organizational and resource deficiencies throughout the city and county. They were not crime laboratory backlogs per se but were untested kits held in police property rooms in cold storage, where investigators and prosecutors had not requested that the SAK be tested. In 2009, however, the chief executives of Los Angles city and county law enforcement agencies announced that all backlogged kits would be tested, using outside private DNA testing laboratories. The untested sexual assault kit problem in Los Angeles, coupled with the fact that agencies had decided to test all such kits for the presence of DNA evidence, presented a unique research opportunity. The Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Project at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) was funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in 2009 to accomplish four primary objectives: 1) evaluate the results of scientific tests performed by private laboratories on backlogged sexual assault kit (SAK) evidence from the LASD and LAPD crime laboratories, 2) review the sexual assault case processing literature and the role played by evidence and other factors in solving and prosecuting such cases; 3) determine the criminal justice dispositions of a sample of backlogged and non-backlogged cases before and after kit testing; and 4) identify principal case and evidence characteristics that could be used by forensic laboratories to evaluate and prioritize sexual assault evidence submitted to crime laboratories. The accomplishment of such goals would aid all law enforcement agencies and associated crime laboratories about the value of testing backlogged sexual assault kits and to set guidelines for processing such evidence in the future. Details: Los Angeles: California State University - Los Angeles, School of Criminal Justice & Criminalistics, 2012. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed june 28, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238500.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238500.pdf Shelf Number: 125377 Keywords: Criminal EvidenceCriminal ForensicsCriminal InvestigationDNA TypingRapeRapistsSexual Assault (U.S.) |
Author: Farris, Coreen Title: Physical and Psychological Health Following Military Sexual Assault: Recommendations for Care, Research, and Policy Summary: Awareness of military sexual assault — sexual assault of a servicemember — has been increasing within the Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD is striving to improve this situation, but unique conditions of life in the military may make response to these events more difficult than within the civilian sector. This paper reviews the prevalence of sexual assault among servicemembers, victim responses in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault, barriers to disclosure, victim needs, and DoD efforts to provide necessary resources to victims. The authors review civilian guidelines for the care of physical injuries, response to STI/HIV and pregnancy risk, forensic services, advocacy and support services, and formal mental health care. They then review DoD directives, forms, and guidelines for sexual assault victim care, revealing that these generally are consistent with civilian guidelines. However, little is known about the fidelity with which these DoD recommendations are implemented. The authors close with recommendations for future research to support the DoD's commitment to a culture free of sexual assault, including a comprehensive, longitudinal epidemiological study of military sexual assault, a needs assessment of disclosed and undisclosed military victims, an evaluation of the training enterprise, and an evaluation to document the extent to which DoD directives requiring immediate, evidence-based care for military victims are being implemented with fidelity. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2013. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper: Accessed July 19, 2013 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/OP300/OP382/RAND_OP382.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/OP300/OP382/RAND_OP382.pdf Shelf Number: 129462 Keywords: MilitaryPsychological TraumaRapeSexual Assault (U.S.)Sexual Violence |
Author: Torreon, Barbara Salazar Title: Military Sexual Assault: Chronology of Activity in Congress and Related Resources Summary: This report focuses on activity in Congress regarding recent high profile incidents of sexual assault in the military. Included are separate sections on the official responses related to these incidents by the Department of Defense (DOD), the Administration, and Congress including legislation in the 113th Congress. The last section is a resource guide for sources in this report and related materials on sexual assault and prevention. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2013. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: R43168: Accessed August 6, 2013 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R43168.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R43168.pdf Shelf Number: 129555 Keywords: MilitaryRapeSexual AbuseSexual Assault (U.S.) |
Author: U.S. Department of Defense. Inspector General Title: Evaluation of the Military Criminal Investigative Organizations Sexual Assault Investigations Summary: We evaluated the Military Criminal Investigative Organizations’ (MCIOs’) sexual assault investigations completed in 2010 to determine whether they completed investigations as required by DoD, Military Service, and MCIO guidance. Our evaluation focused on the following question: Did the MCIOs investigate sexual assaults as required by guiding policies and procedures? Findings • Most MCIO investigations (89 percent) met or exceeded the investigative standards. • We returned cases with significant deficiencies (11 percent) to the MCIOs for corrective action. • Although 83 cases had no deficiencies, most of the remaining investigations had deficiencies that were not deemed significant. • The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) policy guidance does not direct the collection of clothing articles that a victim or suspect might have placed on themselves shortly after the assault, if different from the clothing worn during the assault. • Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) policy does not require NCIS investigators to notify or coordinate with their servicing judge advocate(s) upon initiating an investigation. • CID guidance regarding records checks does not provide a definitive timeliness requirement. NCIS policy on this topic needs improvement. • NCIS needs policy to require Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) notifications and documentation. Recommendations • The Director and Commanders of the MCIOs implement measures to improve crime scene processing, evidence collection, supervision, and documentation to reduce investigative deficiencies. • The Commanders of CID and AFOSI evaluate their existing policies regarding the collection of clothing worn by suspects and victims subsequent to a sexual assault. • The Director of NCIS evaluate current policy regarding the timely notification and coordination with servicing judge advocates upon the initiation of sexual assault cases, as well as the continued coordination with the servicing judge advocates until final case disposition. • The Commander of CID and Director of NCIS evaluate existing policy guidance regarding the timely completion of records checks. • The Director of NCIS implement policy requiring SARC notifications and documentation. Comments Overall, the Commander, CID, agreed with our recommendations. The Director, NCIS, and the Commander, AFOSI, agreed in part with our recommendations, but objected to our assessment in a number of areas in the report. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Defense, Inspector General, 2013. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 19, 2013 at: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2013-091.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/documents/DODIG-2013-091.pdf Shelf Number: 129649 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationMilitarySexual Assault (U.S.) |
Author: Yung, Corey Rayburn Title: Concealing Campus Sexual Assault: An Empirical Examination Summary: This study tests whether there is substantial undercounting of sexual assault by universities. It compares the sexual assault data submitted by universities while being audited for Clery Act violations with the data from years before and after such audits. If schools report higher rates of sexual assault during times of higher regulatory scrutiny (audits), then that result would support the conclusion that universities are failing to accurately tally incidents of sexual assault during other time periods. The study finds that university reports of sexual assault increase by approximately 44% during the audit period. However, after the audit is completed, the reported sexual assault rates drop to levels statistically indistinguishable from the pre-audit time frame. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ordinary practice of universities is to undercount incidents of sexual assault. Only during periods in which schools are audited do they appear to offer a more complete picture of sexual assault levels on campus. Further, the data indicate that the audits have no long-term effect on the reported levels of sexual assault as those crime rates return to previous levels after the audit is completed. This last finding is supported even in instances when fines are issued for non-compliance. The study tests for a similar result with the tracked crimes of aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary, but reported crimes show no statistically significant differences before, during, or after audits. The results of the study point toward two broader conclusions directly relevant to policymaking in this area. First, greater financial and personnel resources should be allocated commensurate with the severity of the problem and not based solely on university reports of sexual assault levels. Second, the frequency of auditing should be increased and statutorily-capped fines should be raised in order to deter transgressors from continuing to undercount sexual violence. The Campus Accountability and Safety Act, presently before Congress, provides an important step in that direction Details: Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas School of Law, 2014. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 15, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2504631 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2504631 Shelf Number: 133920 Keywords: Campus CrimeColleges and UniversitiesRapeSexual Assault (U.S.) |