NCJ Number
207620
Date Published
December 2003
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This federally supported study reports findings on the effectiveness of the Illinois’ Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Pilot Program and presents recommendations based on the findings.
Abstract
A sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) is a registered nurse who has been trained and certified to conduct medical and forensic examinations of victims of sex crimes. SANE programs include a SANE nurse, as well as other professionals responding to sex crimes in an attempt to improve treatment of sexually assaulted victims who are admitted to hospital emergency rooms and improve the quality of evidence collection and presentation to increase successful prosecution outcomes. In 1999, legislation (Public Act 91-0529) was enacted requiring the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to administer the SANE Pilot Program. This report presents findings from a study supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime on the effectiveness of the SANE Pilot Program and provides recommendations for program improvement and enhancement based on the study’s findings. The study examined whether the program was helping to alleviate suffering of sexual assault victims and whether the program helped increase successful prosecution rates for sex crimes. Results indicated that the Illinois SANE Pilot Program substantially improved community responses to victims of sex crimes and improved the quality of evidence collection and presentation for sex crimes. However, the study could not determine whether it also increased the percentage of successful prosecution outcomes for sex crimes. Appendixes I-V