Abstract:
The outcomes of sexual
assaults involving one suspect and one victim reported to the Anchorage
Police Department (APD) in 2000 to 2003 were examined. Overall, 1,235 sexual
assaults were reported to APD during this period, of which 1,074 involved
one suspect and one victim. Data were collected on 1,052 of these cases
to learn how the Alaska Department of Law disposed of these cases. Of the
1,052 cases examined, 188 (17.9%) were referred to the Department of Law,
127 were accepted for prosecution, and 111 resulted in a conviction. Clearly,
the point of greatest attrition is from report to referral, with 85.2 percent
of reported sexual assaults not being referred for prosecution. However,
most offenders whose cases reach prosecutors are held accountable in some
degree through the imposition of criminal sanctions.
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