Alyssa Lark and Dr. Julie Valentine, College of Nursing
Purpose:
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of a community-based sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program on sexual assault criminal case outcomes in Salt Lake County, Utah. SANEs work with law enforcement and other personnel to collect evidence which is used in prosecution of sexual assault cases. The idea is that SANEs collect more accurate, and therefore usable, evidence which leads to higher prosecution rates.
Background:
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) published a toolkit in February 2013 to measure prosecution outcomes in sexual assault cases in communities with SANE programs. The toolkit was piloted in six sites in the United States. Salt Lake County is the first site to implement the toolkit outside of the pilot sites. The NIJ hopes multiple sites across the country will utilize the toolkit to create a national database of criminal case outcomes in sexual assault cases.
Methodology:
2241 charts from 2003 – 2011 were reviewed with 1657 cases meeting all necessary criteria. From the eligible pool of cases, 30 random cases per year were selected, creating 270 random study cases. The cases were divided into their respective law enforcement agencies. Memorandums of Understanding were established with 11 law enforcement agencies in Salt Lake County who provided suspects’ names for cases referred to the District Attorney. The final criminal case outcome for each of the referred cases was searched through the court docketing system.
Findings:
34% of sexual assault cases from 2003 – 2011 were referred by law enforcement to the District Attorney’s office. The results of criminal case outcomes are as follows: 91% not charged, 3% charged but later dropped, 5% pled or plea bargain reached, 0% trial with acquittal, and 1% trial with conviction. These percentages are compared with other sites. Additionally, qualitative data was obtained as many law enforcement agencies listed why cases were not referred to the district attorney’s office. The qualitative data was counted and categorized. Discussion: These findings were disseminated to community partners: law enforcement, victim advocates, forensic scientists, and prosecution, leading to positive changes to increase prosecution rates. As they respond to sexual assault, SANEs take on a crucial role as they collect forensic evidence, provide emotional support and medical care to victims, and testify in court; however, SANEs are not the only community members who respond to sexual assault. Law enforcement personnel, district attorneys, victim advocates, and many other community partners are also vital in the prosecution of sexual assault cases. Therefore, the response to this study should be community-wide.
Conclusion:
The data suggest that the majority, 91%, of sexual assault cases in Salt Lake County are neither referred nor charged. This outcome was consistent with the results of the pilot studies as were the other outcomes of charged but later dropped, pled or plea bargain reached, trial with acquittal, and trial with conviction. Though the rates of prosecution of sexual assault cases are low in Salt Lake County, there is great potential for these rates to improve. In order for improvements to be made, however, all community partners must respond and work together to achieve higher rates of prosecution. Further research is needed to evaluate the roles of SANEs as they work alongside community partners to respond aggressively to sexual assault in Salt Lake County.