Unfounding Sexual Assault: Examining the Decision to Unfound and Identifying False Reports

Abstract

One of the most controversial-and least understood-issues in the area of sexual violence is the prevalence of false reports of rape. Estimates of the rate of false reports vary widely, which reflects differences in way false reports are defined and in the methods that researchers use to identify them. We address this issue using a mixed methods approach that incorporates quantitative and qualitative data on sexual assault cases that were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 2008 and qualitative data from interviews with LAPD detectives assigned to investigate reports of sexual assault. We found that the LAPD was clearing cases as unfounded appropriately most, but not all, of the time and we estimated that the rate of false reports among cases reported to the LAPD was 4.5 percent. We also found that although complainant recantation was the strongest predictor of the unfounding decision, other factors indicative of the seriousness of the incident and the credibility of the victim also played a role. We interpret these findings using an integrated theoretical perspective that incorporates both Black's sociological theory of law and Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer's focal concerns perspective.

The Prevalence of False Allegations of Rape in the United States from 2006-2010

“…The new guidelines, however, can be expected to have led to more valid figures on the prevalence of false allegations of rape. A study by Spohn et al [19] does not seem to reject the validity of this hypothesis.…”

“…The researchers concluded that in 2.4% of all allegations of sexual assault that were classified by LAPD officers as unfounded evidence existed that a crime did occur. In 9.9% of unfounded allegations Spohn et al [19] concluded that there was evidence that complainants lacked interest to pursue the case or were motivated by fear or pressure to stop pursuing the case. Thus, a total of 12.3% of all allegations were deemed to be misclassified by the LAPD.…”

“…Thus, a total of 12.3% of all allegations were deemed to be misclassified by the LAPD. Spohn et al [19] wrote "One conclusion that can be drawn from these data is that the LAPD is clearing sexual assault cases as unfounded appropriately most, but not all, of the time" (p: 173).…”

“…In the study by Spohn et al [19] five cases, 6.2% of all unfounded cases, that were correctly classified as unfounded by the LAPD were labeled by the rearchers as baseless allegations. If the LAPD, which is one of the largest police departments in the U.S., is representative for law enforcement agencies in the U.S. then recent figures from the UCR could help to resolve the heated debate on prevalence of false and baseless rape allegations in the U.S.…”

“…Spohn et al [19] studied a random sample of 401 allegations of sexual assaults at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) that were filed in 2008, to test whether the guidelines of the FBI and IACP to unfound cases are followed by police officers. The researchers concluded that in 2.4% of all allegations of sexual assault that were classified by LAPD officers as unfounded evidence existed that a crime did occur.…”