LEGAL 391S Lecture 2: notes lecture 2
Document Summary
These legal and policy changes were designed to improve the treatment of sexual assault victims and, thus, to prompt more victims to report the crime to the police. They also were designed to improve the response of the criminal justice system to the crime of sexual assault by reducing case attrition and increasing the likelihood of successful prosecution. There also is evidence that prosecution of rape cases remains problematic. In 2004, the conviction rate for felony defendants charged with rape in the. 75 largest counties in the united states was 62%; 54% of the defendants were convicted of felonies and 8% were convicted of misdemeanors (bureau of justice statistics, 2008) Sexual assault is a underreported crime only 19. 1% of women who were reaped since their 18th bday reported the crime. In canada only 6% of sexual assaults were reported to the police.