Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

["S. Daniel Carter" <>]

When discussing what the term "unfounded" means in the FBI's Uniform Crime
Reporting system it is important to look to their own guidance, then to go
beyond that and understand the bigger picture.

According to the FBI's "Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook" (Revised 2004) an
unfounded complaint, of forcible rape or any other recordable crime, is one
"that is determined through investigation to be false or baseless. In other
words, no crime occurred." This definition is found on page 77 of the guide.

The guide, on page 78, further states that "the refusal of the victim to
cooperate with prosecution, or the failure to make an arrest does not
unfound a legitimate offense." In such a situation the offense should
generally be recorded as "Cleared by Exceptional Means" rather than as an
unfounded complaint.

Sticking to this issue alone my question is does reality reflect these
guidelines? Or, as noted in the RAINN statement, are cases where there is
merely insufficient evidence to persuade a prosecutor to move forward or a
victim declines to pursue charges also being counted as unfounded? Is this
based on a lack of understanding and or victim blaming that isn't found in
other types of personal or property crimes?

More broadly I think it is also important to assert what we know from
victimization studies, which generally find that only a third or fewer of
rapes are reported to law enforcement. In the campus context at least one
study has identified the number reported to law enforcement at fewer than 5
percent. And in any event even the highest numbers from the FBI show that
the overwhelming majority of all rapes reported to law enforcement are not
false.

********************************
S. Daniel Carter
Senior Vice President
Security On Campus, Inc.
http://www.securityoncampus.org/
e-mail:

on 1/29/07 4:55 PM, Lynne Walter at 

 wrote:

> I was going to offer some of the same response as the ASU Sergeant, and
> also include this information from the RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest
> National Network) website:
> 
> "How Many Reports Are False?
> 
> There is widespread opinion that a large number of reported sexual
> assaults are false claims. That is absolutely not true. According to the
> FBI, in 2003 5.5% of sexual assaults were determined to be unfounded.
> "Unfounded" includes cases when there is insufficient evidence, the
> victim decides not to follow through with prosecution, the victim
> repeatedly changes the account of rape, the victim recants and police
> are unable to locate the victim as well as when the allegation is found
> to be false."
> 
> "'Unfounded' does not equal false" is the key talking point I think I'd
> make in this scenario, and then explain what "unfounded" means.
> 
> Lynne
> 
> Lynne Walter, MSW
> Prevention Education Coordinator
> North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
> 183 Wind Chime Court, Suite 100
> Raleigh, NC 27615
> (919) 870-8881
> 1-888-737-CASA
> (919) 870-8828 (fax)
> 
> www.nccasa.org
> www.teencasa.org
>  
> SAVE THE DATE!
> NCCASA 18th Biennial Conference
> May 7-9, 2007  Raleigh, NC
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> 
> [mailto:]
>  On Behalf Of Dena Hester
> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 4:41 PM
> To: 
> 
> Subject: FW: Unfounded statistic
> 
> 
> Hello List Serve members,
> 
> I asked an ASU Police Sergeant here at ASU the question that Michelle
> posed and here is his response.  Perhaps his answer provides some
> clarity??  
> 
> Dena Hester
> Arizona State University, WHP
> Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator
> 
> (480) 965-1996
> 451 E. University Dr
> Tempe, AZ  85287
> Helpline:  (480) 727-HOME
> For more information about Wellness and Health Promotion programs and
> services please visit:  www.asu.edu/wellness
>  
>  
> "We must be the change we wish to see" ~Gandhi
>  
>  
> 
> _____________________________________________
> From: James Hardina
> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 2:35 PM
> To: Dena Hester
> Subject: RE: Unfounded statistic
> 
> First off, the definition of "rape" and "unfounded" the FBI uses is not
> the definitions you are used to. I think what you are looking for is
> "women who lied to the Police about being raped who were not raped and
> made a false report." In other words, they reported an incident to the
> Police that a) did not happen at all, or b) she lied about the
> circumstance of they event (i.e. she gave consent but told the Police
> she did not give consent).
> 
> An "unfounded report" may be a & b above, but could also be a case where
> the event happened as described by the victim (she did not lie and make
> up facts) but by statutory definition, after the investigation was
> completed, the event occurred as described but is not considered a rape.
> That case would be classified as "unfounded" but clearly is not a "false
> report." 
> 
> As far as UCR goes, "unfounded" means the case is "not a crime," it does
> not mean "the case is a false report" (although a false report could
> also be an "unfounded" case).
> 
> Make sense?
> 
> Jim
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dena Hester
> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 2:04 PM
> To: James Hardina
> Subject: FW: Unfounded statistic
> 
> Any insight Jim? 
> 
> Hope 07 is off to a great start for you!  :)
> 
> Dena Hester
> Arizona State University, WHP
> Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator
> 
> (480) 965-1996
> 451 E. University Dr
> Tempe, AZ  85287
> Helpline:  (480) 727-HOME
> For more information about Wellness and Health Promotion programs and
> services please visit:  www.asu.edu/wellness
>  
>  
> "We must be the change we wish to see" ~Gandhi
>  
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> 
> [mailto:]
>  On Behalf Of Michelle N.
> Issadore
> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 1:55 PM
> To: 
> 
> Subject: Unfounded statistic
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Our student newspaper received a letter to the editor refuting the
> commonly used FBI statistic that only 8% sexual assault reports are
> unfounded, comparable to every other violent crime. As the statistic
> appears to be from 1996 and I can no longer track down the original,
> does anyone have a suggestion for how to diffuse the situation while
> simultaneously strengthening our point that false reporting is highly
> uncommon?
> 
> The letter is below, if anyone has information that contradicts what is
> stated.
> 
> "There are a multitude of reasons not to use the FBI/UCR statistics to
> try to quantify the problem of rape, and/or the false reporting of rape,
> but what I find most frustrating is the misuse of these statistics by
> both sides to advance their agendas.
> 
> Unlike Ms. Issadore and far too many of her colleagues, I have actually
> obtained from the FBI, the Crime Index Unfounded rates from 1983 to
> 2001, the most current statistics available at the time.
> 
> During that period, the "unfounded" rate for rape, at its highest, in
> 1983 ( 10.1%), was three times the average of all other Index crimes
> (3.3%). At its lowest rate, in 2001 (5.8%), it was over four times the
> average (1.38%). Each of those nineteen years it skewed the average of
> all Index crimes by having the highest unfounded rate of all. There are
> plenty of reasons the unfounded rate should not be used to measure false
> reports, but some keep citing it anyway, lured by the temptation to use
> a statistic, even one used incorrectly, from such an authoritative
> source as the FBI, typically to advance an agenda."
> 
> Thanks,
> Michelle
> 
> -- 
> Michelle N. Issadore
> Sexual Violence Prevention Coordinator
> Lehigh University Women's Center
> University Center Room C201A
> 29 Trembley Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015
> (610) 758-5808; (610) 758-6960 fax
> 
> 
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> 
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