Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Stalking

The study identified several factors that Alaska State Troopers can address in order to increase the rate of successful legal resolutions. Three factors significantly increased the odds of both referral and acceptance; documenting multiple sex acts more than tripled the odds of referral and almost quadrupled the odds of acceptance. Closing cases within 2 weeks increased the odds of referral by a factor of 1.6 and increased the odds of acceptance by a factor of 3.7. The odds of referral were tripled when the suspect had multiple charges, and the odds of acceptance were doubled when the suspect had multiple charges. Four additional factors significantly increased the odds of referral: collecting physical evidence or DNA from the suspect, tape recording the suspect, tape recording the victim, and building victim cooperation. Other factors that increased the odds of acceptance were taking photos of the assault scene, interviewing the suspect within 3 days, finding inconsistencies in statements by the suspect, and having a local paraprofessional as the first responder. There was no evidence of under-enforcement in rural areas for the offenses examined. Geographic isolation of the crimes did not hinder case processing. The study examined all cases of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor reported to Alaska State Troopers in 2003 and 2004; all domestic violence incidents reported to Alaska State Troopers in 2004; and all stalking incidents reported to Alaska State Troopers from 1994 to 2005. In addition, the study examined whether cases were referred to the Alaska Department of Law Enforcement for prosecution, were accepted for prosecution, and resulted in a conviction.