Rape case attrition
A THREE-YEAR RESEARCH study into the factors that influence the very low conviction rate for rape finds that most cases ‘drop out’ at the earliest, policing stages of the justice process. Nearly two thirds of cases are lost at this stage with victim withdrawal continuing to be a significant problem. Researchers tracked one year’s reported rape cases in the Sussex area and interviewed criminal justice personnel and women and men who had, and had not, reported rape to the police. Significant numbers of police officers believe a
large proportion of rapes (mean response of 53 per cent) are false allegations, in contrast to the case review research findings showing that just four per cent of cases were formally documented as ‘false’.n
i Contact Dr Lesley McMillan,
Glasgow Caledonian University Email
Lesley.mcmillan@
gcu.ac.uk Telephone 0141 331 8284 ESRC Grant Number RES-061-23-0138
Russian female prisoners suffer dual isolation
AT THE END of 2009, there were approximately 49,000 women imprisoned in 46 of Russia’s penal colonies. The majority were held at considerable distances from home, often in remote places difficult for their relatives to access. Transportation of prisoners, including juveniles, to some colonies could take over two weeks. New research with imprisoned
women and girls and former prisoners in Russia highlights the ‘dual isolation’ they feel within the Russian penal system. Distance results in women feeling ‘out of place’ and makes maintaining contact with the outside world difficult, which can lead to family breakdown. More than 70 per cent of female prisoners in the colonies receive no visitors.
Despite the recent announcement
of a radical restructuring of the penal system, which includes plans to increase the number of facilities for women, the prospects for change in Russia’s penal system geography that victimises as well as punishes are not, in the short term, encouraging. Although there are humanitarian and economic reasons for Russia trying to achieve a more geographically proportional spread of male and female prisoners, there are interests working in the opposite direction, including some public support for punitive measures. n
i
Contact Professor Judith Pallot, University of Oxford Email
judith.pallot@
ouce.ox.ac.uk Telephone 01865 276222 ESRC Grant Number RES-062-23-0026
IN BRIEF
SUSTAINABLE FISHING Tension is growing between the need to conserve dwindling fish stocks through conservation management, and the needs of those dependent upon access to fish for their well- being. Based on two sites in Sri Lanka and India, this project will both advance conceptual understanding of fisheries- conservation conflict and generate evidence on how such conflict affects the well-being of the fishers and their families. ESRC Grant Number RES-061-25-0485
UPSKILLING IN POVERTY Expanding the supply of graduates in the UK has not markedly improved economic performance. Government now recognises the importance of how employers use graduate skills in the labour process. A study of UK residential estate agents will explore the range of skills that are being supplied by graduates, how and where these skills are developed and the type of skills demanded by employers. ESRC Grant Number RES-000-22-4343
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR One hundred and fifty seven specialist anti-social behaviour response courts were created in 2005. This research explores the implications of the creation of anti-social behaviour response courts in England and Wales for the judicial role. Findings will establish to what extent there has been an expansion of the judicial role and how far improving outcomes for the community features as part of the judicial decision-making process. ESRC Grant Number RES-000-22-3715-A
SPRING 2011 SOCIETY NOW 5
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