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Show moreThis brief provides a description of the data, sampling, methods, and data limitations of the SAK Pilot Research Project. Utilizing data provided by the Prosecutor’s office via an electronic database of documents used for prosecution, the Begun Center research team gleaned information about the investigative process and entered these data into a quantitative database. The Pilot Research Project focuses on unsubmitted SAKs with completed investigations as of August 2015.
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Show moreWe conducted an analysis of the cost savings and cost effectiveness of the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Task Force on all unsubmitted SAKs tested as of January 1, 2016. We explored the total tangible and intangible costs to victims associated with unsubmitted SAKs and the total cost of testing and investigated those SAKs. Our analysis estimates the total cost savings of future sexual assaults averted due to the SAK Task Force as of January 1, 2016 is $48.2 million dollars. Conservative estimates suggest the SAK Task Force’s efforts will produce a net savings of $38.7 million dollars to the community and each SAK tested will produce a net savings of $8,893.
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Show moreThis brief provides a description of these victims in terms of their demographics, criminal history prior to and after the sexual assault, relationship to the offender, and degree of perceived cooperation during the initial investigation in the 243 sexual assaults analyzed for the SAK Pilot Research Project.
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Show moreThis brief provides a comparison of serial offenders and one-time offenders in terms of their demographics, criminal histories prior to and after the assault, relationship to the offender, and modus operandi in the 243 sexual assaults analyzed for the SAK Pilot Research Project. Serial offender status was determined based on the number of CODIS hits or sexual offense arrests in the offender’s criminal history.
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Show moreAs of 2015, all 4,845 unsubmitted SAKs from 1993 to 2010 from Cuyahoga County have been submitted to BCI for testing. To assist the Prosecutor’s Office in streamlining their efforts, researchers at the Begun Center mapped each step of the process from Testing to Disposition. Utilizing data provided by CCPO, this brief illustrates how SAKs move through the four main phases of this process—Testing, Investigation, Prosecution, and Disposition. As a SAK proceeds through the process it (potentially) changes from (1) a SAK, (2) an investigation, (3) a prosecution, and (4) a final disposition.
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Show moreIn this research brief, we detail the process by which previously unsubmitted SAKs advance through four phases—testing, investigation, prosecution, and disposition—on the Cuyahoga County SAK Task Force (Task Force). We describe the key steps in the process, providing statistics on the number of cases that proceed or fail to proceed as well as the reasons why cases fail to proceed. The purpose of this research brief is to aid other jurisdictions that are processing their previously unsubmitted SAKs in visualizing the processing from testing to disposition, collecting performance measures at each step in the process, and establishing comparable statistics across jurisdictions. This will aid in forecasting how many SAKs will likely include DNA hits, how many investigations should be completed, and how many should result in indictments and convictions, which can then be used for allocating resources, informing end-dates, communicating updates and expectations, and, hopefully, helping ensure no new “backlog” develops. Additionally, we have provided statistics in this brief to aid other jurisdictions in knowing what comes after testing.
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Show moreIt is a common belief among law enforcement and prosecutors that serial sex offenders maintain a consistent modus operandi (MO), or offending pattern. The standard investigative practices in many law enforcement agencies are to either investigate a sexual assault allegation as an isolated event or use the offender’s MO to link other sexual assaults possibly committed by that offender. However, recent research from the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit research team at Case Western Reserve University is calling this practice into question. In our recently published paper in the Journal of Criminal Justice “Offending patterns for serial sex offenders identified via the DNA testing of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits,” we present findings showing that serial sex offenders frequently assault both strangers and nonstrangers, and often drastically vary their MO across assaults. In this paper, we discuss our findings and why these findings contradict standard practices for investigating sexual assault, provide recommendations for changing how law enforcement investigates sexual assault based on these findings, and include a discussion of the larger implications of this research for collecting and testing kits and following up on the results of the testing.
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Show moreIn this research brief, we present final outcomes for individuals in Cuyahoga County who lawfully “owe” DNA – meaning DNA that should have been collected because of a qualifying criminal offense(s) but was not. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and researchers from the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University collaborated on a project funded by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative to: (a) identify individuals who owe DNA, (b) collect swabs from eligible suspects who owe, and (c) follow up on what happens after their DNA is entered into CODIS (the federal DNA database). The findings presented in this brief detail the outcomes of our efforts, including how many people who owed DNA have now been confirmed to have their DNA in the CODIS, and the number and types of crimes to which these individuals have now been connected. The findings highlight the strong probative value of DNA in criminal investigations and the importance of ensuring DNA is collected from those who lawfully owe. Recommendations and lessons learned are provided for other jurisdictions that are addressing their own owed DNA issues.
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Show moreStarting in 2016, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the research team collaborated to identify individuals who owe DNA, swab eligible offenders who owe, and followed up after their DNA is entered into CODIS. This brief focuses on the second and third phases this project—the swabbing, the following up, and disseminating the results. As an assessment of the efficacy of changes to practice, this report explains the process and outcomes of swabbing and submitting swabs of individuals who owe DNA in Cuyahoga County and the outcomes of what happened after a person’s DNA was entered into CODIS. The findings and recommendations serve as a framework for other jurisdictions addressing their issues with owed DNA.
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