Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: An Analysis of Crime Reported to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, 2008

The variables in Dataset 1 (Case Outcomes and Characteristics: Reports from 2008) include administrative police information and charges listed on the police report. There is also information related to the victim including background characteristics such as age and race, credibility factors such as criminal record, drinking at time of incident, mental health issues, or inconsistent statements to police, and cooperation with law enforcement such as identifying the suspect by full name and address, cooperation during police investigation, or not wanting the suspect arrested. In addition, there are variables regarding the suspect such as age, race, criminal record, whether the suspect was arrested, and any charges filed. There are also variables related to the case including the types of charges, the time of day when the crime occurred, the relationship between the victim and the suspect, the presence of evidence and witnesses, and the characteristics of the police investigation. Variables in Dataset 2 (Sexual Assault Case Attrition: 2005 to 2009, Los Angeles Police Department - All Cases) include case status, description of the incident, information related to the crime including type, date, and time, and the victim's sex, race, and age. Variables in Dataset 3 (Sexual Assault Case Attrition: 2005 to 2009, Los Angeles Police Department - Adult Arrests) include case status, information related to the crime including type, date, and time, and the victim's sex, race, and age. Variables in Dataset 4 (Sexual Assault Case Attrition: 2005 to 2009, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department - All Cases) include case status, arrest charges, and MO. Variables in Dataset 5 (Sexual Assault Case Attrition: 2005 to 2009, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department - Adult Arrests) include case status and arrest charges.