What’s Missing Matters: Examining Missing Data Problems in Sexual Assault Kit Data

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) remain unsubmitted nationwide despite their potential usefulness in the successful prosecution of alleged perpetrators. Literature explores the probative value of SAK evidence in sexual assault cases. SAK evidence is processed along a three-link criminal justice chain of custody involving (1) health-care professionals who enter data into a forensic medical report (FMR) and then transfer both to (2) law enforcement and finally to (3) crime laboratories. FMRs are transferred along one or more record management systems (RMS) and may or may not be updated by receiving agencies as new evidence is collected. Consequently, researchers who have examined SAK data nationwide have consistently encountered problems with extensive missing, unreliable, and inconsistent data entry associated with varying survivor, assault, and case characteristics. The current study examines the relationship between missing data on these characteristics and SAK submission status among 371 unsubmitted and 371 submitted SAKs in Los Angeles (1982–2010) to examine these “missingness” problems. Results reveal a significant relationship between missing SAK data and kit submission status. We argue that the “missingness matters” as it may hinder effective case processing, the capacity of scholars to conduct rigorous/valid research, and most importantly, disadvantage just outcomes for survivors.