Abstract：
Despite the prevalence and severity of sexual violence, case attrition has been identified as a significant issue. Of the cases that are reported to police, only a small portion result in arrest, prosecution, or conviction. Research has revealed that much of this attrition occurs early in the process and that a number of theoretically supported legal (e.g., physical evidence, victim participation) and extralegal (e.g., demographics, victim credibility) factors influence how and whether a case progresses through the criminal justice system. However, few researchers have directly examined the impact of officer doubt on case processing. Whereas legal and extralegal factors represent case characteristics, doubt represents officer cognition about these characteristics. These perceptions can affect how victims are treated, how police investigate the case, and ultimately, the case\'s progression through the system. A random sample of sexual assault reports from one police department in a medium-sized jurisdiction in the western U.S. was drawn to examine the expression of officer doubt, as well as its impact on victim participation, arrest, and referral for prosecution while controlling for relevant legal and extralegal factors. The findings suggest that officer doubt is an important consideration in sexual assault case processing, independent of other legal and extralegal factors, and that it significantly impacts the likelihood of arrest and referral for prosecution. Consistent with previous research, police decision-making was also impacted by certain legal factors. Victim participation was not directly affected by officer doubt but it was predicted by extralegal factors. Implications for future sexual assault research and practitioner training are discussed.
摘要：
尽管性暴力的普遍性和严重性，案例减员已被确定为一个重大问题。在向警方报告的案件中，只有一小部分导致逮捕，起诉,或定罪。研究表明，这种减员的大部分发生在过程的早期，并且一些理论上支持的法律(例如，物证,受害者参与)和法外(例如，人口统计，受害者可信度)因素影响案件如何以及是否通过刑事司法系统进行。然而,很少有研究人员直接研究官员怀疑对案件处理的影响。法律和法外因素代表案件特征，怀疑代表军官对这些特征的认知。这些看法会影响如何对待受害者，警方如何调查此案，最终,案件通过系统的进展。从美国西部一个中型司法管辖区的一个警察局随机抽取了性侵犯报告样本，以检查官员怀疑的表达，以及它对受害者参与的影响，逮捕,并在控制相关法律和法外因素的同时提交起诉。调查结果表明，官员怀疑是性侵犯案件处理中的重要考虑因素，独立于其他法律和法律外因素，并且它极大地影响了逮捕和移交起诉的可能性。与以前的研究一致，警察的决策也受到某些法律因素的影响。受害者的参与没有受到官员怀疑的直接影响，但受到法外因素的预测。讨论了对未来性侵犯研究和从业人员培训的影响。
