Unfounding or Exceptional Clearance: How Do Police Dispose of Sexual Assault Complaints?

• In Event: New Findings on Sexual Violence Case Attrition: Progress and Recession in Bridging the Justice Gap

Abstract

With increased attention to the criminal justice response to victims of sexual assault, the police have been the forefront of change. In the past, there was particular concern with the overuse of unfounding—or the determination that complaints are baseless—by the police as a final disposition. Given widespread efforts to reduce this outcome, the proportion of complaints that are designated “unfounded” should be expected to decline over time and alternatively closed by arrest or by exceptional means. Scant research, however, has examined the changes in the types of sexual assault case clearances over time and how these dispositions affect outcomes for victims. Based on record-review data collected from six police departments located across the US as well as case clearance data from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), we examine how dispositions for sexual assault cases have changed over time. Specifically, in this paper we describe the associations between the dispositions “unfounded,” “clearance by arrest,” and “clearance by exceptional means” and the implications for victims of sexual assault and future public policy.

Authors

• Melissa Morabito, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• April Pattavina, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Linda M. Williams, Wellesley Centers for Women