Spotlight
Law Enforcement Response to Missing Children
A new bulletin co-authored by CCRC researchers examines caretaker satisfaction with law enforcement response to missing children. The study finds that caretaker satisfaction rests largely on the dispatching of officers to the home or scene and the time it took for law enforcement to respond. The study found that officers were dispatched in response to only 68% of cases involving reports of a child who is or may be missing.
Welcome to the Crimes Against Children Research Center
Evaluating CACs' Response to Child Sexual Abuse
A new report has just been issued by the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) summarizing findings by the Crimes Against Children's Research Center that the Child Advocacy Center model can help communities as they seek to improve sexual abuse investigations. Child Advocacy Centers are designed to make child abuse investigations more child friendly, increase professional coordination, and improve investigation outcomes. The study collected data from 10 communities across the country and compared investigations in communities with a CAC to those without.
Among the findings were:
- Communities with CACs had greater law enforcement involvement in child sexual abuse investigations and more evidence of coordinated investigations.
- CAC cases resulted in better child access to medical exams.
- CACs documented a higher rate of referrals for child mental health treatment, although children accessed mental health treatment at similar rates across all communities.
- Caregivers at CACs expressed greater satisfaction with the investigative process.
- CACs and comparison communities had similar rates of prosecution and conviction of offenders. However, one CAC filed more criminal charges than the community it was compared with, and another sentenced offenders to longer jail terms.
The CCRC researchers Drs. Lisa Jones and Wendy Walsh are continuing research with CACs nationally and in New Hampshire.
The CCRC researchers Drs. Lisa Jones and Wendy Walsh are continuing research with CACs nationally and in New Hampshire.
