The Influence of Forensic Evidence on the Case Outcomes of Assault and Robbery Incidents

The study focused on the influence of forensic evidence on the case processing of assault and robbery incidents. The study utilized a prospective analysis of official record data that followed cases in five jurisdictions from the time of police incident report to final criminal disposition. The results indicated that forensic evidence was collected in less than a third of all robbery and assault cases. Forensic evidence did not impact case outcomes for either robbery or assault cases. Cases in which there is physical evidence are no more likely to reach conviction than those without such evidence. However, the availability of victim and/or witness accounts were found to predict movement through various stages of the criminal case process. Thus, locating and encouraging victims and witnesses to provide testimony appears to enhance case solvability. In addition, variables associated with the perceived seriousness of the offense impact case progression. Keywords assault, criminal justice policy, forensic evidence, robbery The 1990s were pivotal in fueling broad interest in the role of forensic evidence1 in the justice system. It was during this decade that one of the first realistic-fiction dramas, Law and Order, premiered, the first Innocence Project was founded, and the courts finally woke up to the possible fallibility of scientific evidence in the Daubert case