Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Police responses to sexual assault complaints: the role of perpetrator /complainant intoxication
Other Titles:	Law and human behavior
Authors:	Stewart, Anna Schuller, Regina A
Keywords:	Policing;Sexual assault;Drug and alcohol misuse
Year:	2000
Publisher:	Plenum Pub. Corp
Citation:	24 (5), 2000
Notes:	In a survey of 212 police officers from the Queensland Police Service using randomly selected gender-balanced volunteers the authors sought to investigate the impact of victim and perpetrator alcohol consumption on the likelihood of charging an alleged offender in a sexual assault complaint. Numerous studies are cited that show that in cases of interpersonal violence where alcohol consumption is involved observers’ judgments are influenced by their perception of victim and aggressor intoxification. Typically, an intoxicated victim is viewed quite negatively whereas judgment of an intoxicated perpetrator ranges from the aggressor having an excuse for his actions to there being increased responsibility for those actions to its having no impact at all. This study was used specifically to measure the influence on police officers of complainant and aggressor alcohol intoxification in police treatment and handling of sexual assault cases. Findings showed that perpetrator intoxification played no part in the officers’ assessment of the situation and that victim intoxification, while it did influence their judgment, did not directly influence the officers’ decision to charge the perpetrator. However, the two factors which did influence the likelihood of the aggressor being charged were the complainant’s credibility and the likelihood that the charged party would be found guilty in a court of law. Gender differences between male and female respondents were found: females were more likely to believe the victim and more likely to attribute blame to the perpetrator. Limitations of the study are noted and recommendation is made that further research is needed on police decision making in this area.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/16194
ISSN:	0147-7307
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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