Disentangling the Relationships among Prior Police Contact, Victim Cooperation, Investigatory Effort, and Case Clearance: Evidence from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and Police Public Contact Survey (PPCS)

Key Points

• To understand how prior police encounters affect victim reports of police effort and case clearance.
• Analysis of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and Police Public Contact Survey
• Examination of relationships among police contact, victim cooperation, and case clearance
• Victims with prior police contact reported varying levels of investigatory effort by police.
• Victim cooperation positively influenced case clearance rates when aligned with police actions.
• Investigatory efforts by police are often correlated with victim satisfaction and case outcomes.