Low Conviction Rates Research Articles

Rape Myths and Verdict Systems: What Is Influencing Conviction Rates in Rape Trials in Scotland?

The Scottish verdict system includes three verdicts: 'guilty', 'not guilty' and 'not proven'. Politicians propose that the three-verdict system is partially to blame for the low conviction rate of rape, whereas research suggests that rape myths may be having a larger impact. To test the effects of varying verdict systems (guilty, not guilty and not proven; guilty and not guilty; a series of proven and not proven verdicts) and rape myths on juror verdicts. A total of 180 participants answered questions regarding their acceptance of rape myths using the Acceptance of Modern Myth and Sexual Aggression (AMMSA) scale. They then watched a staged rape trial filmed in a real courtroom and reached a verdict. Participants also provided longer-form answers on which thematical analysis was conducted. The main findings are as follows: (1) The special verdict system leads to a higher conviction rate than the other systems when rape myth acceptance is controlled for. (2) The higher the rape myth acceptance, the more favourably the accused was perceived and the less favourably the complainer was perceived.

Moving Parts At the Intersections of Trafficking in Persons, Slavery, and the Slave Trade

In this paper the author examines the relationship between trafficking in persons, slavery and the slave trade, arguing for a context-specific case-bycase assessment, especially with respect to the investigation and prosecution of the underlying conduct. The legal concepts are closely related; in some jurisdictions they subsume the other, while in others they consist of parts of the other. While the specific ways in which these concepts are connected may be fluid and relate to multiple moving parts, this is not purely an academic reflection – there are real-life consequences for survivors and victims, as diverse remedies are available for each. It is in the interests of justice to consider how to improve overall access to justice and especially to effective remedies for victims of all three crimes (especially considering the persistent impunity gaps, lack of accountability for these crimes, and low conviction rates). The author reviews the relevant legal frameworks and then goes on to identify some moving parts – areas of overlap, divergence, and ambiguity, presenting a few visualizations of the relationship between the crimes before considering how these moving parts work in practice by examining investigative challenges which are also reflected in caselaw. While trafficking in persons is often equated with slavery in contemporary discourse, the author puts forward some aspects which could help differentiate the crimes and posits that there is value in recognizing the differences between them. The conclusion put forward by the author is that all three legal concepts must be seen as complementary and mutually reinforcing if the international community will become effective at closing the impunity gap for the heinous and exploitative conduct that characterises all three crimes.

Between Law and Society: Exploring the Persistent Rape Problem in Pakistan

This research article delves into the pervasive issue of sexual violence against women in Pakistan, shedding light on the intricate web of factors contributing to its alarming frequency and the abysmally low conviction rates. The study explores historical perspectives, societal norms, and the role of various stakeholders in perpetuating an environment where sexual violence persists. From an Islamic standpoint, the gravity of rape, known as Zina bil jabar, is emphasised by the required penalties in the Quran and historical traditions. The article critically analyzes the performance of stakeholders within the Criminal Justice System, identifying flaws in investigation procedures, victim-blaming, societal pressures, and the often-tedious trial processes. The authors argue that while laws exist, their implementation falls short, resulting in a negligible 3% conviction rate. The study explores the implications of out-of-court settlements and societal attitudes, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach beyond punitive measures. In conclusion, the research calls for a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of rape in Pakistan. To guarantee victims receive justice, it promotes progressive societal attitudes, new laws, and a reform of the criminal justice system. The author stresses that to make Pakistan a safer place for women, there needs to be a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of sexual assault.

Influence of various factors on the legal outcome of cases of child abuse—experiences gathered at an interdisciplinary forensic examination center in Vienna, Austria

Background and objectiveTo improve the currently low conviction rate in cases of child abuse a forensic examination center for children and adolescents (FOKUS) was established in Vienna, Austria. Besides a state of the art treatment combined with forensic documentation, one of FOKUS’ key goals is to identify potential areas for improvements within the process legal proceedings in cases of child abuse through constant scientific monitoring. The accompanying study at hand includes all patients referred to FOKUS within a two year timeframe (n = 233), monitoring their progression from first contact with the medical professionals from FOKUS to the end of criminal proceedings. A detailed analysis of case files was performed in those cases that were reported to the legal authorities by the clinicians of FOKUS (n = 87). Aim of the study is to investigate which factors contribute to the initiation of legal proceedings and a successful conviction.ResultsMultivariate logistic regression analyses showed that main proceedings were opened more often in cases where the offender was an adult (p < 0.001) or admitted his guilt (p < 0.001) and if digital traces were available (p = 0.001) or trial support (p = 0.024) present. Furthermore, the combined occurrence of medical documentation and victim disclosure was related to a higher probability of opening main trials.ConclusionThese findings underline how challenging the successful persecution of an offender in cases of child abuse is.

“Something has to change”

“Something has to change”

Exploring the Prevalence of Cybercrime in the Banking Industry in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

As expenditures in broadband infrastructure in developing countries have increased and barriers to internet access have decreased, this infrastructure has rapidly become a target for cybercrime. Developing countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and India have become the preferred destination for cybercriminals. As banks now rely on digital networks for their business operations, the risk of becoming a cybercrime victim has increased for both the banking industry and its clients. The paper analyses the causes of the increased rate of cybercrime in banks and determines the effectiveness of legislation in addressing the threat posed by cybercrime to the banking industry. This study utilised a qualitative research design using face-to-face interviews with ten participants who were purposively selected. The study revealed the prevalence of internal fraud within the banking industry, poor internal controls, ineffective processes and systems, banking clients’ lack of knowledge and awareness of the looming threat of cybercrime, low conviction rates for cybercriminals; and SAPS officials’ lack of skills in policing cybercrime in KwaZulu- Natal as some of the key factors that exacerbate cybercriminal activities in the banking industry. Based on the transnational character of cybercrime, it had been concluded that the majority of the banks in South Africa and many other countries are under threat of cybercrime, and therefore they need to coordinate and implement a unified effort to tackle the growing threat of cybercriminal activities in the banking industry.

THE ROLE OF PROSECUTION IN IMPROVING JUSTICE DELIVERY: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

The criminal justice system plays a crucial role in upholding social order and harmony, encompassing the characterization of offenses, the protocols for addressing crime and criminals, the appropriate punishments for offenders, and the safeguarding of victims within a society. In contemporary society, this system comprises three key institutions: the police, the prosecution, and the judiciary. Regrettably, in Pakistan, the criminal justice system has been severely impacted by flaws, exhibiting numerous idiosyncrasies and vulnerabilities. In the Haider Ali Case (2015 SCMR 1724), the Supreme Court of Pakistan pointed out that approximately 65% of cases are resolved without any convictions. Even if convictions secured in trial courts, offenders are often released during the appeal process, primarily due to inadequate investigations and a lack of admissible evidence. However, it is important to acknowledge another crucial component of the criminal justice system, namely the prosecution, which has been identified as weak and ineffective in administering justice, particularly in Pakistan. Through qualitative data collection from the relevant population, the study's findings suggest that prosecutors in Pakistan perceive themselves as vulnerable, caught between two powerful institutions: the police and the judiciary. The lack of collaboration between two entities, namely the police and the prosecution, has led to significant rifts within the criminal justice system and consequently resulted in a remarkably low conviction rate. Furthermore, in Pakistan, the prosecution office is not permitted to intervene or provide assistance to the investigating agencies during the investigation process or in the preparation of charge sheets or final reports. This study proposes that prosecutors should be involved during crime investigations to guide the investigating officers in addressing any legal gaps, ensuring that the strongest evidence is presented in court. Additionally, it is suggested that the government shall establish a legal division within the police department to offer guidance to the investigating officers in the preparation of charge sheets, which appears to be a promising solution.

Introduction, Summary, Questions for the Future

Introduction, Summary, Questions for the Future

Sexual offences committed by members of the armed forces: Is the service justice system fit for purpose?

Recent policy reviews, academic research and high-profile media critiques have repeatedly emphasised the UK military as a hypermasculine culture, seemingly permissive of sexual violence, marked by high prevalence of sexual offences and an inadequate justice response. The service justice system has been characterised by low conviction rates and poor treatment of victim-survivors of sexual offences, prompting recommendation that rape should be tried in the civilian criminal justice system rather than the service justice system. Despite notable debate on this matter, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) ultimately rejected this recommendation in December 2021 and instead committed to implementing clear and meaningful change within the service justice system response to sexual offences. In light of this decision, this article interrogates available data about the current service justice system response to sexual offending, and lessons that may be learnt from the civilian criminal justice system, to highlight current obstacles to justice and outline areas in which further research and scrutiny is necessary.

Rate Expectations: Jurors and the Self-Reinforcing Effect of Conviction Rates

We examined whether jurors who know that a prosecutor has a high conviction rate are more inclined to convict a defendant than jurors who know that the prosecutor has a low conviction rate. Using simulated criminal cases, we conducted two experimental studies with jury-eligible participants. Study 1 (N = 200) tested whether information about prior conviction rates (high or low) affected jurors’ estimations of the probability of guilt in the context of a robbery. Study 2 (N = 205) used another criminal trial context (murder) and another dependent variable (dichotomous guilty/not guilty verdicts). Study 2 also incorporated jury instructions on the reasonable doubt standard and included a control condition in which no information regarding the conviction rate was provided. In both studies, jurors in the high conviction rate treatment were significantly more likely to convict the accused than jurors in the low conviction rate treatment. When jurors are aware of a prosecutor's prior conviction rates, a self-reinforcing cycle may arise in which conviction rates determine conviction rates.

The curious case of the jury-shaped hole: A plea for real jury research

Criminal juries make decisions of great importance. A key criticism of juries is that they are unreliable in a multitude of ways, from exhibiting racial or gendered biases, to misunderstanding their role, to engaging in impropriety such as internet research. Recently, some have even claimed that the use of juries creates injustice on a large scale, as a cause of low conviction rates for sexual criminality. Unfortunately, empirical research into jury deliberation is undermined by the fact that researchers are unable to study live juries. The indirect sources of evidence used by researchers suffer from various problems, the most important of which is dubious levels of ecological validity. Real jury research—studying live jury deliberation—is controversial. However, as I argue, the objections to it are unconvincing. There is in fact a moral imperative to facilitate real jury research.

Study of Socio-Demographic Profile of Sexual Assault Survivors at A Tertiary Care Centre

The Forensic examination following sexual assault has two principal goals i.e. to provide comprehensive health care and to collect evidences. In India, in 2020, of the total rape cases investigated by police, 82.2% of cases were filed and 39.3% were found guilty. The low conviction rate often reflects a lack of coordination between law enforcement and survivors. This study is based on the record of sexual assault victims who were brought for medico-legal examination. Total 47 cases of survivors of sexual assault were examined in the SAFE unit of Forensic Medicine department over the span of 2 years. The present study shows that instances of a sexual offence are higher in younger age females especially among those who belong to lower socioeconomic status. The most common genital injury reported was vaginal followed by fossa navicularis/fourchette. Proper training of healthcare workers and the use of improvised examination techniques not only aids in the acquisition of knowledge but it may also assist survivors in the administration justice.

How can rape investigations be enhanced? Consideration of attrition in rape cases: Second follow-up study

Attrition of rape cases is highest during the police investigation. As annually increasing reports of rape contrast with low conviction rates, this research determines which features of an investigation impact the likelihood of attrition. Cox Proportional Hazards Analysis of 620 rape cases highlights where and when attrition is greatest, in order to improve each stage of the investigation. The analysis found initial attendance by uniformed officers and conducting an interview significantly decreased attrition likelihood. Alternatively, matching the gender of officer to victim significantly increased likelihood. Moreover, victim-perpetrator relationship significantly impacted case length.

ANALYTICAL STUDY OF STREET CRIMES IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The intent to conduct street crimes results from cultural standards that promote and encourage violence. Often, street crimes are exacerbated by the proliferation and formation of gangs that perpetuate and reinforce streetculture habits. Other causes of street crime include poverty and unemployment. It is believed that locations with higher poverty rates and unemployment have higher crime rates than other, more developed ones. In addition, those with poor self-control are more likely to perpetrate street crimes. The victims of street criminals become prey to moveable properties, i.e., mobile phones, cash, credit and debit cards, and vehicles. Victims' precious lives are sometimes taken during the occurrence of these incidents. Because street crimes are getting worse and people feel less safe, and because law enforcement agencies haven't been able to stop street crimes, this issue will stay. The researchers aspire that this study will open a venue for society to understand street crimes and their causes, the reasons for low conviction rates, and suggestions regarding the increase of conviction rates.

The Effect of Heuristic Cues on Jurors’ Systematic Information Processing in Rape Trials

There is concern that jurors’ decisions in rape trials might be influenced by misleading cues (e.g., victim stereotypes) potentially explaining disproportionately low conviction rates. We investigated the bias hypothesis from the heuristic–systematic model as an explanation for how jurors may be influenced by misleading stereotypes even while they are effortfully processing rape trial evidence. We expected that when case evidence was ambiguous, stereotypes would guide motivated participants’ effortful information processing, but not when case evidence was strong. Mock jurors ( N = 901) were asked to make decisions about a rape trial with either ambiguous or strong evidence in which the complainant was either stereotypically distressed or unemotional giving evidence. Participants were either placed under high motivation conditions to encourage effortful information processing or in a control condition with low motivation instructions to encourage less effortful processing as a comparison. Participants’ information processing and case decisions were measured as key dependent variables. We found partial support for the hypothesized interaction and the bias hypothesis, suggesting that the types of evidence participants attended to in decision-making were influenced by misleading stereotypical cues. Our findings have implications for interventions to reduce the effect of misleading stereotypes on decisions in rape trials. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843221118018 .

A study on cyber financial frauds in the district of Jamtara, Jharkhand

The study has been undertaken to investigate the determination of digital financial fraud (cyber fraud) in Jamtara district of Jharkhand (the hub of cyber fraudsters) the basic tools &amp; techniques which are used by the offenders and to find out the socio-economic condition of their social life &amp; find the new challenging in cybercrime investigation and to find out the more secure way of digital financial flow, by using survey research method and work on secondary as well primary data which was related to this study, cybercrime especially financial fraud becomes the new challenging task for law enforcement agencies. Digital financial frauds are being within an undefined jurisdiction so it becomes more difficult to investigate the cases and due to other different public as well private sectors of service providers like the telecom companies and the banks are unable to make the defensive system for their customer also. This is the main reason for delays in cyber-related case investigation and a very low conviction rate in cyber-related cases.

Greater Knowledge Enhances Complainant Credibility and Increases Jury Convictions for Child Sexual Assault.

Child sexual assault (CSA) cases reliant on uncorroborated testimony yield low conviction rates. Past research demonstrated a strong relationship between verdict and juror CSA knowledge such as typical delays in reporting by victims, and perceived victim credibility. This trial simulation experiment examined the effectiveness of interventions by an expert witness or an educative judicial direction in reducing jurors' CSA misconceptions. Participants were 885 jurors in New South Wales, Australia. After viewing a professionally acted video trial, half the jurors rendered individual verdicts and half deliberated in groups of 8–12 before completing a post-trial questionnaire. Multilevel structural equation modeling exploring the relationship between CSA knowledge and verdict demonstrated that greater CSA knowledge after the interventions increased the odds ratio to convict by itself, and that the judicial direction predicted a higher level of post-trial CSA knowledge in jurors than other expert interventions. Moreover, greater CSA knowledge was associated with heightened credibility perceptions of the complainant and a corroborating witness. At the conclusion of the trial, the more jurors knew about CSA, the higher the perceived credibility of both the complainant and her grandmother, and the more likely jurors were to convict the accused.

A path towards citizenship: The effects of early college high schools on criminal convictions and voting

Building on a growing literature showing that early college high schools substantially improve educational outcomes, we investigate possible spillover impacts of this intervention on civic outcomes in North Carolina, which has early colleges in most of its 100 counties. We present both lottery and observational impacts on voting and criminal convictions. Our results suggest a modest increase in voting during early adulthood of about 4–5 percent, though lottery estimates do not rule out a null effect. For criminal convictions, lottery estimates are imprecise due to very low conviction rates, but observational evidence suggests a moderate decrease in convictions. We additionally identify stronger impacts on voting and conviction outcomes for key student subgroups, particularly black males and economically-disadvantaged white students. These results suggest that scaling up the early college program can improve youth civic outcomes and help to close key civic and political participation gaps.

Optimisation and application of a forensic microsatellite panel to combat Greater-one horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) poaching in India

The Greater one-horned (GoH) rhinoceros is one of the most charismatic endemic megaherbivores of the Indian subcontinent. Threatened by poaching, habitat loss and disease, the species is found only in small areas of its historical distribution. Increasing demands for rhino horns in chinese traditional medicine has put the existing population under continuing threat, and large profits and low conviction rates make poaching difficult to contain. DNA forensics such as the RhoDIS-Africa program has helped in combating illegal rhino horn trade, but the approach is yet to be optimised for Indian GoH rhinoceros. Here we followed the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) guidelines to establish a 14 dinucleotide microsatellite panel for Indian GoH rhinoceros DNA profiling. Selected from a large initial pool (n = 34), the microsatellite markers showed high polymorphism, stable peak characteristics, consistent allele calls and produced precise, reproducible genotypes from different types of rhino samples. The panel also showed low genotyping error and produced high statistical power during individual identification (PIDsibs value of 1.2*10−4). As part of the official RhoDIS-India program, we used this panel to match poached rhino carcass with seized contraband as scientific evidence in court procedure. This program now moves to generate detailed allele-frequency maps of all GoH rhinoceros populations in India and Nepal for development of a genetic database and identification of poaching hotspots and trade routes across the subcontinent and beyond.

Vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress or burnout?: an exploratory study of the effects of investigating sexual assault cases on detectives

PurposePolice officers are exposed to a wide variety of stressors – frequently interacting with people at their worst moments and sometimes absorbing the trauma that victims experience themselves. Investigating sexual assaults reported by adults presents significant challenges given the often high levels of distress experienced by victims paired with the likelihood that no arrest will be made and the low conviction rates. Little research explores the impact this investigatory work has on the detectives who are assigned to these cases.Design/methodology/approachUsing interviews conducted with 42 sexual assault detectives across six jurisdictions designed to understand sexual assault case attrition, the study enhances understanding of the effects of investigating crimes of sexual violence on detectives. Specifically, the aurhors explore their experiences within the context of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.FindingsThe current study clearly identifies the incidence of emotional symptoms among sexual assault investigators. During the course of interviews about their decision-making, detectives, unprompted by researchers, manifested symptoms of trauma resulting from their assigned caseloads.Research limitations/implicationsOpen-ended interviews offer a promising approach to exploring foundational questions.Practical implicationsExposure to victims who have suffered the trauma of sexual assault can have a subsequent impact on the job performance and personal life of those who respond to victims in immediate crisis and to those who provide long-term assistance. A plan for future research is detailed to better pinpoint how and when these symptoms arise and interventions that may address their effects.Originality/valueWhile there is a large literature detailing vicarious trauma for social workers, nurses and doctors, the topic is generally understudied among police officers and specifically detectives despite their repeated contacts with adult victims of violent crimes. This research builds upon the knowledge of burnout experienced by child maltreatment detectives to enhance understanding of sexual assault detectives.