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Arrest and Referral Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases: The Influence of Police Discretion on Case Attrition

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  • Ericka Wentz

    (Department of Criminology, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118, USA)

  • Kelsey Keimig

    (Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA)

Abstract

Research on sexual assault case attrition spans from the decision of victims to report the incidents and cooperate with police during investigations through the final case disposition in the courtroom. However, few studies have focused on how police discretion influences attrition at the points of arrest and case referral. The current study examines factors of adult sexual assaults reported to the police to determine which legal and extralegal factors were predictive of arrest and which variables were predictive of police decisions to refer cases to prosecutors for consideration. The results of this study showed victim cooperation and evidence significantly predicted arrest and referral, along with variables which measured the seriousness of the case and victim credibility. The findings confirmed both legally relevant and extralegal variables were important considerations during each decision-making point. Implications arising from these results are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Ericka Wentz & Kelsey Keimig, 2019. "Arrest and Referral Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases: The Influence of Police Discretion on Case Attrition," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:6:p:180-:d:238720
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kingsnorth, Rodney & Lopez, John & Wentworth, Jennifer & Cummings, Debra, 1998. "Adult sexual assault: The role of racial/ethnic composition in prosecution and sentencing," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 359-371, September.
    2. Tellis, Katharine M. & Spohn, Cassia C., 2008. "The sexual stratification hypothesis revisited: Testing assumptions about simple versus aggravated rape," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 252-261, July.
    3. Bouffard, Jeffrey A., 2000. "Predicting type of sexual assault case closure from victim, suspect, and case characteristics," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 527-542.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jodie Murphy-Oikonen & Lori Chambers & Ainsley Miller & Karen McQueen, 2022. "Sexual Assault Case Attrition: The Voices of Survivors," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, December.
    2. Kimberly Przeszlowski & Rob T. Guerette & Lori K. Sudderth, 2023. "The Role and Impact of the Use of Information Technologies by Police in Response to Violence against Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-18, June.

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