Bunting Lisa
NSPCC Northern Ireland, Jennymount Business Park, North Derby, Belfast BT15 3HN, UK.
Child Abuse Negl. 2008 Dec;32(12):1109-18. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.09.002. Epub 2008 Nov 25.
This paper uses data provided by the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) to compare the characteristics and outcomes of reported sexual offences involving child and adult victims and explore the factors associated with case outcomes.
PSNI provided data on 8,789 sexual offences recorded between April 2001 and March 2006. Case outcomes were based on whether a case was recorded by police as having sufficient evidence to summons, charge, or caution an offender (detected). Where an offender was summonsed, charged, or cautioned, this is classified as detection with a formal sanction. A case can also be classified as "detected" without a formal sanction. The analysis focused on two key categories of detection without formal sanction: cases in which the police deem there to be sufficient evidence to charge an offender but took no further action because the victim did not wish to prosecute, or because the police or the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided that no useful purpose would be served by proceeding.
The analysis confirmed that the characteristics of recorded sexual offences involving adult and child victims vary significantly according to gender, offence type, the timing of report and victim-offender relationship. Almost half of child sex abuse cases are not detected by police and a quarter do not proceed through the criminal justice system because either the victim declines to prosecute or the Police/PPS decide not to proceed. Only one in five child cases involved detection with a formal sanction. Child groups with lower detection with formal sanction rates included children under 5, teenagers, those who do not report when the abuse occurs but disclose at a later date; and those who experience abuse at the hands of peers and adults known to them but not related. The analysis also highlighted variation in formal sanction rates depending on where the offence was reported.
Consideration needs to be given to improving the criminal justice response to specific child groups as well as monitoring detection rates in different police areas in order to address potential practice variation.
Consideration needs to be given to improving the professional response in relation to with particularly lower detection with formal sanction rates. There is also a need to monitor case outcomes to ensure that child victims in different areas receive a similar service.
本文利用北爱尔兰警察局（PSNI）提供的数据，比较涉及儿童和成年受害者的已报案性犯罪的特征及结果，并探究与案件结果相关的因素。
PSNI提供了2001年4月至2006年3月期间记录的8789起性犯罪的数据。案件结果取决于警方是否记录某案件有足够证据传唤、指控或警告犯罪者（已侦破）。若犯罪者被传唤、指控或警告，则归类为受到正式制裁的侦破案件。一个案件也可归类为“已侦破”但未受到正式制裁。分析聚焦于未受到正式制裁的两类关键侦破案件：警方认为有足够证据指控犯罪者，但因受害者不愿起诉，或因警方或公诉机关（PPS）决定继续进行无实际意义而未采取进一步行动的案件。
分析证实，涉及成年和儿童受害者的已记录性犯罪特征在性别、犯罪类型、报案时间及受害者与犯罪者关系方面存在显著差异。警方未侦破近一半的儿童性虐待案件，四分之一的案件未进入刑事司法系统，原因要么是受害者拒绝起诉，要么是警方/公诉机关决定不再继续。仅有五分之一的儿童案件涉及受到正式制裁的侦破。受到正式制裁侦破率较低的儿童群体包括5岁以下儿童、青少年、遭受虐待时未报案但之后披露的儿童；以及遭受已知但无亲属关系的同龄人和成年人虐待的儿童。分析还凸显了根据报案地点不同，正式制裁率存在差异。
需要考虑改进刑事司法系统对特定儿童群体的应对措施，并监测不同警区的侦破率，以应对潜在的执法差异。
需要考虑改进对正式制裁率特别低的情况的专业应对措施。还需要监测案件结果，以确保不同地区的儿童受害者获得类似服务。
