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Show moreThis brief explains how the 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 reporting addresses the issues that arise when lawfully owed DNA is not collected from offenders, explains the process by which we conducted a census of individuals who lawfully owe their DNA, articulates the outcomes of conducting the census (e.g., statistics on the number of individuals who owe their DNA in Cuyahoga County), and recommends approaches that other jurisdictions (within and beyond Ohio) could take to address issues in collecting lawfully owed DNA.
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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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