They assessed how many SAKs yielded a DNA match to a reference sample in the federal criminal database CODIS and then ascertained whether the matching case was to another sexual assault incident. They examined the forensic DNA testing results from a sample of 7,287 SAKs from Detroit, MI. Testing sexual assaults kits and examining rates of DNA matches across cases provides a new way of studying repeat perpetration.Ĭampbell and colleagues explored whether this method could help identify suspected serial sexual offenders. Matching DNA profiles can link multiple reported crimes to the same perpetrator. A suspect's DNA profile can be uploaded to the federal criminal DNA database, CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), and searched against other DNA profiles. In many sexual assaults, biological evidence is left by the perpetrator (e.g., semen, saliva), which can be collected by medical professionals in standardized sexual assault kits and analyzed for DNA. In this study, Campbell and her colleagues drew upon a different data source to establish reliable linkages across multiple sexual assault cases that have been reported to the criminal justice system: DNA evidence from sexual assault kits (SAKs also termed "rape kits"). Researchers have long known that this method underestimates the true prevalence of repeat perpetration because so few cases are investigated and brought to trial. Typically, criminal history records are used to identify repeat sexual offenders by assessing how many perpetrators are re-arrested or re-convicted.
Researchers and policy makers have expressed concern that offenders may go on to commit additional sexual assaults.
What are the potential consequences of this long-standing practice? What happens when sexual assaults are reported, but offenders are not investigated, arrested, or adjudicated? Prior research consistently shows that the vast majority of reported sexual assaults are never referred by the police to prosecutors for arrest warrants and charges, and most cases are closed by the police, often with minimal or no investigation. In their paper in Psychology of Violence (Online First Publication - May 27, 2019), Rebecca Campbell and her colleagues take a new approach to identifying suspected serial sexual offenders who are slipping through the cracks of the criminal justice system.
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