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Police decisions to found sexual assault cases: The influence of community‐level factors and space

Police decisions to found sexual assault cases: The influence of community‐level factors and space Previous research has examined the influence of individual‐ and case‐level factors on police decisions in sexual assault cases, with little attention paid to community‐level factors. This study examined the association between community‐level factors and police decisions to found sexual assault cases. Founding is the first decision officers make and determines whether a case is investigated. An archival data set of N = 8015 sexual assaults reported to a Midwestern city police department was used. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was first used to examine the relationship between six community‐level factors and founding rates within the city's 77 communities. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was then used to examine whether these relationships varied by space. OLS results revealed communities with a greater proportion of Black residents, Latinx residents, Asian residents, and higher income had significantly higher founding rates. GWR results replicated these findings indicating these relationships varied significantly by space throughout the city. In contrast to the OLS, GWR results indicated communities farther from a rape crisis center had higher founding rates. Findings underscore the importance of analyzing localized effects and examining individual‐, case‐, and community‐level factors on sexual assault case outcomes in the criminal legal system. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Community Psychology Wiley

Police decisions to found sexual assault cases: The influence of community‐level factors and space

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References (53)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2023 Society for Community Research and Action
ISSN
0091-0562
eISSN
1573-2770
DOI
10.1002/ajcp.12641
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Previous research has examined the influence of individual‐ and case‐level factors on police decisions in sexual assault cases, with little attention paid to community‐level factors. This study examined the association between community‐level factors and police decisions to found sexual assault cases. Founding is the first decision officers make and determines whether a case is investigated. An archival data set of N = 8015 sexual assaults reported to a Midwestern city police department was used. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was first used to examine the relationship between six community‐level factors and founding rates within the city's 77 communities. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was then used to examine whether these relationships varied by space. OLS results revealed communities with a greater proportion of Black residents, Latinx residents, Asian residents, and higher income had significantly higher founding rates. GWR results replicated these findings indicating these relationships varied significantly by space throughout the city. In contrast to the OLS, GWR results indicated communities farther from a rape crisis center had higher founding rates. Findings underscore the importance of analyzing localized effects and examining individual‐, case‐, and community‐level factors on sexual assault case outcomes in the criminal legal system.

Journal

American Journal of Community Psychology – Wiley

Published: Jun 1, 2023

Keywords: case processing; extralegal factors; geographic information systems; police decision‐making; sexual assault

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