Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Kylie S. Past studies on criminal expertise showed that some sexual offenders possess skills related to avoiding detection.
We used binary logistic regression to determine whether behavioral indicators of criminal expertise predicted case status. Findings showed that the most relevant factors related to case solvability were not related to detection avoidance strategies used by the offender, but rather, whether semen evidence was found at the crime scene and the number of sexual acts performed against the victim. Interestingly, cases involving fetish theft were also more likely to remain unsolved. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Keywords: case solvability, detection avoidance, forensic awareness, offender behavior, modus operandi. Sexual assault is one of the most common violent offenses, while also being one of the most under-reported crimes Du Mont et al.
In fact, studies have shown that only a minority of sexual crimes have suspects that are likely to be arrested, charged, and convicted e. Several studies using the criminal expertise framework on sexual offenders have shown that some individuals have developed in-depth knowledge and skills oriented around detection avoidance that differentiate them from more novice or less sophisticated offenders e.
Although interesting and informative, these studies do not examine whether expertise is related to case solvability. Nonetheless, past samples e. As such, the present study seeks to offer the first empirical examination of the role of criminal expertise on case solvability using a sample of stranger sexual assault cases involving theft. Although most of the research on crime solvability has focused on homicide, there are two competing perspectives from this literature that can offer insight as to why sexual assault may remain unsolved.
