NCJ Number
144473
Date Published
Unknown
Length
94 pages
Annotation
This study was designed to develop a procedure for systematically examining information that is typically recorded by police about reported rapes. Police files of 608 rape cases that occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma, between July 1990 and December 1991 were analyzed to learn more about the victims; circumstances surrounding the reported rapes; victims' behavior before, during, and after the rape; rapists' behavior during the rape; the assailants who commit and are arrested for rape; and final police dispositions of reported rapes.
Abstract
The results showed that physical violence was used by rapists in 80 percent of these cases. Most rape victims were under the age of 30, and 34 percent had been raped in their own homes (only 12 percent of rapes occurred in parking lots, parks, or alleys). Fifty-five percent of rape victims were assaulted by someone they knew and most tried to resist and/or escape. Only 25 percent of reported rapes ended in an arrest or warrant issued; about two-thirds of those arrested had prior criminal records, often involving sex-related offenses. The quicker the rape was reported to police, the more likely it was that the assailant would be arrested and charged. Most rape victims inadvertently destroyed forensic evidence by showering, changing clothing, or failing to undergo a medical examination. 44 figures