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Journal Article

Citation

Nesvold H, Ormstad K, Friis S. J. Forensic Sci. 2011; 56(5): 1156-1162.

Affiliation

Oslo Sexual Assault Centre, The Emergency Medical Agency, Legevakten, N - 0182 Oslo, Norway. Department of Forensic Medicine, The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, N - 0403 Oslo, Norway. Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, N - 0318 Oslo, Norway. Division of Psychiatry, Oslo University Hospital, UllevÄl, N - 0424 Oslo, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01879.x

PMID

21827469

Abstract

This study explores how the police select cases for using information from a self-referral Sexual Assault Centre (SAC). The study is retrospective and descriptive: a 2-year series from a Scandinavian SAC and corresponding police files. The police had access to 163 SAC cases, requested 84% of available forensic medical documentation, and had 50% of the trace samples analyzed. The two main predictors of police utilization of forensic evidence were cases the police classified as rape and complaints filed during January to August. Extrinsic DNA was found in 27/60 trace evidence analyses, 21 matching a suspect. For one-third of the suspects who denied sexual acts, the forensic evidence contradicted their denial. Nonuse forfeited this possibility in several cases, and relevant information on injuries was lost. Our results indicate that available medical information is not fully utilized for legal purposes. Main barriers are police classification of cases and insufficient economic funding.


Language: en

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