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Show moreThis brief explores the efficacy of having a shared space for a multidisciplinary team that is responsible for tackling the issue of unsubmitted SAKs in their community. Our research finds that being in close proximity for extended periods of time has many positive outcomes including engendering a cultural shift that can break through disciplinary silos leading to more positive experiences for victims and successful prosecutions. The findings and recommendations detailed in this brief can be applicable to jurisdictions that are currently tackling or beginning to address their jurisdiction’s unsubmitted SAKs, regardless of whether those efforts are currently being funded under BJA SAKI grants.
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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 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 moreIn this research brief, we assess the integration of victim advocacy on the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force (Task Force). The Task Force created a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to focus solely on cold cases of sexual assaults, and the MDT uniquely incorporates victim advocates. The research team observed how the victim advocates influenced the MDT to assess (a) the integration of the victim advocates into a Task Force, (b) how well victim-centered behaviors and attitudes were exhibited by all members of the Task Force, and (c) whether people believed the integration of advocates or victim-centeredness impacted the Task Force outcomes. The findings highlight the utility of including victim advocates as full team members and how their participation influences investigation and prosecution. Recommendations are provided for other jurisdictions interested in implementing victim advocates onto their cold case investigations.
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Show moreThis report describes patterns of sexual offending. The exploratory examination of the typology of offending helps describe different types of sexual assaults by providing context behind how these different types of sexual assaults occur and who the offenders may be. Guided by the scientific literature on sexual assaults and violence against women, we examined data on our sample of 243 Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs) to discern a pattern for four types of sexual assaults: sexual assaults that involve kidnapping, sexual assaults committed by strangers, sexual assaults committed by multiple offenders, and sexual assaults that involve captivity.
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Show morePrevious research has addressed the logistical and structural factors that contributed to the backlog. This research brief approaches this issue from a different perspective—focusing instead on the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force (Task Force) members’ perceptions of the reasons for the backlog. We detail in the brief perceptions of what created the backlog, which provides an important glimpse into what was not working about the process according to Task Force members. Through their analyses and critiques, we can observe the shifts in culture and practice that have occurred, due in part to the passage of time and larger societal changes, but mainly derive from Task Force member’s participation in this specialized Task Force created to address the backlog.
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Show moreThis report provides data describing how sexual assault reports from the unsubmitted sexual assault kits that were not previously indicted were initially processed through the system from the Reporting Phase, to the Initial Investigative Phase, and the Prosecution Phase. We then track what is currently happening with these cases as part of the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Pilot Research Project.
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