NCJ Number
43441
Date Published
1977
Length
19 pages
Annotation
RESULTS OF A STUDY ATTEMPTING TO FIND A CORRELATION BETWEEN HITCHHIKING AND THE INCREASE IN REPORTED RAPES IN BERKERLY, CALIFORNIA, ARE RECOUNTED; EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT A RELATION DOES EXIST.
Abstract
THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF HITCHHIKING AMONG THE 'HIPPI' AND YOUTH CULTURES IS DETAILED, AND SOME ASPECTS OF THIS PRACTICE WHICH MAY EXPLAIN WHY MEMBERS OF THE SUBCULTURE FIND IT ATTRACTIVE ARE EXPLORED. RAPE COMPLAINTS MADE TO THE BERKELEY POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEARS 1968 THROUGH 1970 WERE UTILIZED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE CITY'S RAPE RATE INCREASE WAS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HITCHHIKING AND TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HITCHHIKE RAPE IN GENERAL. DATA SHOWED THAT REPORTED RAPES ROSE 59 PERCENT BETWEEN 1968 AND 1970, WITH THE AVERAGE RATIO OF HITCHHIKE RAPE TO TOTAL RAPE REPORTS 20 PERCENT. AN EXAMINATION OF RACIAL PATTERNS, AGE PATTERNS, VICTIM, OFFENDER, AND OFFENSE YIELDED THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS: (1) HITCHHIKE RAPE IS AN INTERRACIAL OFFENSE IN WHICH THE VICTIMS ARE WHITE WOMEN OF COLLEGE AGE. (2) OFFENDERS ARE 5 TO 10 YEARS OLDER THAN THE VICTIMS, AND GENERALLY BLACK. (3) THE USUAL ATTITUDE OF THE VICTIM WAS SUBMISSION RATHER THAN RESISTANCE. (4) IN 75 PERCENT OF THE EVENTS, PHYSICAL FORCE OR SOME TYPE OF WEAPON WAS INVOLVED. (5) PAIR AND GROUP RAPES ACCOUNTED FOR 48 PERCENT OF THE HITCHHIKE RAPES. ACCORDING TO THE AUTHORS, AN ASSUMPTION CAN BE MADE THAT IF THERE WERE NO HITCHHIKING FEMALES, A REDUCTION IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF RAPES IN BERKELEY WOULD OCCUR; A LAW FORBIDDING HITCHHIKING, HOWEVER, IS NOT ADVOCATED. FURTHER STUDY OF HITCHHIKE RAPE AS A 'VICTIM-PRECIPITATED OFFENSE,' IN WHICH THE VICTIM'S BEHAVIOR CONTRIBUTES TO HER VICTIMIZATION, IS WARRANTED.