Rapists' behavior to avoid police detection

Purpose: Despite the importance of understanding factors related to solving sexual crimes, there have been very few studies conducted on the topic. Further, these studies tend to focus on homicides exclusively and often neglect the fact that offenders may adopt certain behaviors that increase their chances of avoiding detection (i.e., investigative awareness). Methods: The current study seeks to explore the role of the offender’s behavior (i.e., selection of certain victim characteristics, crime characteristics, and investigative awareness strategies) on case outcomes (i.e., solved vs. unsolved) in a large sample of rapes (n =4354) occurring in France between 1979 and 2018. Results: Findings from logistic regression analyses indicated that certain victim (e.g., victim was jogging or walking) and crime (e.g., outdoor location) characteristics, as well as investigative awareness strategies (e.g., giving a false identity) were significantly associated with unsolved cases. Conclusions: Interestingly, forensic evidence had only a minor impact on case status, whereas the familiarity of the crime location and victim interactions with the offender appeared to be most important. Theoretical implications and utility for police investigations are discussed.