Social Disorganization and Unfounded Sexual Assault Case Clearances

    Authors

    E. E. Mustaine; R. Tewksbury; J. Corzine;L. Huff-Corzine

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Violence Vict.

    Keywords

    police; criminal investigations; collective efficacy; sexual assault; social disorganization; CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS; FALSE ALLEGATIONS; CRIME CLEARANCE; RAPE; MULTILEVEL; DISADVANTAGE; VIOLENCE; VICTIMS; Criminology & Penology

    Abstract

    Despite much research and policy development, it remains true that less than one half of all reported sexual assaults are cleared by arrest (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2011). Compounding this issue, many sexual assaults are not cleared by an arrest, but rather by being classified as "unfounded" by law enforcement (Soulliere, 1994, 2005; Tellis & Spohn, 2008). Grounded in the social disorganization perspective, this article examines the relationships between case-related and extralegal community-level characteristics and use of the designation of unfounded by the police. Contrary to initial expectations, findings show that communities with higher levels of concentrated disadvantage, immigrant concentration, and residential instability are less likely to have sexual assaults deemed unfounded by law enforcement.

    Journal Title

    Violence and Victims

    Volume

    28

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2013

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    90

    Last Page

    102

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000314421200006

    ISSN

    0886-6708

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