Sexual Assault 

of Women by 

Strangers

Kelly Dedel

Problem-Specific Guides Series

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

No. 62

Sexual Assault of Women by 

Strangers

Kelly Dedel

This project was supported by cooperative agreement 

#2009-CK-WX-K002 by the Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions 

contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily 

represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

References to specific companies, products, or services should not 

be considered an endorsement of the product by the author or the 

U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to 

supplement discussion of the issues. 

The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of July 

2011. Given that URLs and websites are in constant flux, neither the 

author nor the COPS Office can vouch for their current validity.

© 2011 Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, Inc. The U.S. 

Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and 

irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and 

authorize others to use, this publication for federal government 

purposes. This publication may be freely distributed and used for 

noncommercial and educational purposes.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

ISBN: 978-1-935676-43-0

August 2011

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides Series

No. 62

| v |

Contents

Contents

About the Problem-Specific Guide Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What This Guide Does and Does Not Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

General Description of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Prevalence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Underreporting by Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Victims’ Experiences With Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Challenges for Acknowledging the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Harms Caused by Sexual Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Factors Contributing to Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Sexual Assault Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Locations and Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Alcohol Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Incidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Locations and Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Current Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Measuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Process Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Outcome Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Specific Responses To Reduce Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Victim-Oriented Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Offender-Oriented Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Location-Oriented Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Responses With Limited Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
| vi |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Appendix: Summary of Responses to Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers . . . . . . 33

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
| 1 |

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series

About the Problem-Specific Guide Series

The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about how police can reduce the 

harm caused by specific crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention and 

to improving the overall response to incidents, not to investigating offenses or handling 

specific incidents. Neither do they cover all of the technical details about how to implement 

specific responses. The guides are written for police—of whatever rank or assignment—

who must address the specific problem the guides cover. The guides will be most useful to 

officers who:

•	 Understand basic problem-oriented policing principles and methods. The 

guides are not primers in problem-oriented policing. They deal only briefly with the 

initial decision to focus on a particular problem, methods to analyze the problem, 

and means to assess the results of a problem-oriented policing project. They are 

designed to help police decide how best to analyze and address a problem they 

have already identified. (A companion series of Problem-Solving Tools guides has 

been produced to aid in various aspects of problem analysis and assessment.)

•	 Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the complexity of the problem, 

you should be prepared to spend perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and 

responding to it. Carefully studying a problem before responding helps you 

design the right strategy, one that is most likely to work in your community. 

You should not blindly adopt the responses others have used; you must decide 

whether they are appropriate to your local situation. What is true in one place 

may not be true elsewhere; what works in one place may not work everywhere.

•	 Are willing to consider new ways of doing police business. The guides describe 

responses that other police departments have used or that researchers have tested. 

While not all of these responses will be appropriate to your particular problem, they 

should help give a broader view of the kinds of things you could do. You may think 

you cannot implement some of these responses in your jurisdiction, but perhaps you 

can. In many places, when police have discovered a more effective response, they 

have succeeded in having laws and policies changed, improving the response to the 

problem. (A companion series of Response Guides has been produced to help you 

understand how commonly-used police responses work on a variety of problems.) 
| 2 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

•	 Understand the value and the limits of research knowledge. For some types 

of problems, a lot of useful research is available to the police; for other problems, 

little is available. Accordingly, some guides in this series summarize existing research 

whereas other guides illustrate the need for more research on that particular problem. 

Regardless, research has not provided definitive answers to all the questions you 

might have about the problem. The research may help get you started in designing 

your own responses, but it cannot tell you exactly what to do. This will depend 

greatly on the particular nature of your local problem. In the interest of keeping the 

guides readable, not every piece of relevant research has been cited, nor has every 

point been attributed to its sources. To have done so would have overwhelmed and 

distracted the reader. The references listed at the end of each guide are those drawn 

on most heavily; they are not a complete bibliography of research on the subject. 

•	 Are willing to work with others to find effective solutions to the problem. The 

police alone cannot implement many of the responses discussed in the guides. They 

must frequently implement them in partnership with other responsible private and 

public bodies including other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, 

private businesses, public utilities, community groups, and individual citizens. An 

effective problem-solver must know how to forge genuine partnerships with others 

and be prepared to invest considerable effort in making these partnerships work. 

Each guide identifies particular individuals or groups in the community with whom 

police might work to improve the overall response to that problem. Thorough 

analysis of problems often reveals that individuals and groups other than the police 

are in a stronger position to address problems and that police ought to shift some 

greater responsibility to them to do so. Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing 

Responsibility for Public Safety Problems, provides further discussion of this topic.

The COPS Office defines community policing as “a philosophy that promotes 

organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problemsolving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public 

safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.” These guides emphasize 

problem-solving and police-community partnerships in the context of addressing specific 

public safety problems. For the most part, the organizational strategies that can facilitate 

problem-solving and police-community partnerships vary considerably and discussion of 

them is beyond the scope of these guides.
| 3 |

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series

These guides have drawn on research findings and police practices in the United States, 

the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. 

Even though laws, customs and police practices vary from country to country, it is apparent 

that the police everywhere experience common problems. In a world that is becoming 

increasingly interconnected, it is important that police be aware of research and successful 

practices beyond the borders of their own countries.

Each guide is informed by a thorough review of the research literature and reported 

police practice, and each guide is anonymously peer-reviewed by a line police officer, a 

police executive and a researcher prior to publication. The review process is independently 

managed by the COPS Office, which solicits the reviews. 

For more information about problem-oriented policing, visit the Center for ProblemOriented Policing online at www.popcenter.org. This website offers free online access to:

•	 The Problem-Specific Guides series

•	 The companion Response Guides and Problem-Solving Tools series 

•	 Special publications on crime analysis and on policing terrorism

•	 Instructional information about problem-oriented policing and related topics 

•	 An interactive problem-oriented policing training exercise

•	 An interactive Problem Analysis Module

•	 Online access to important police research and practices

•	 Information about problem-oriented policing conferences and award programs 
| 4 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police are produced by the Center for Problem-Oriented 

Policing, whose officers are Michael S. Scott (Director), Ronald V. Clarke (Associate 

Director), and Graeme R. Newman (Associate Director). While each guide has a primary 

author, other project team members, COPS Office staff, and anonymous peer reviewers 

contributed to each guide by proposing text, recommending research, and offering 

suggestions on matters of format and style. 

The project team that developed the guide series comprised Herman Goldstein (University 

of Wisconsin Law School), Ronald V. Clarke (Rutgers University), John E. Eck (University 

of Cincinnati), Michael S. Scott (University of Wisconsin Law School), Rana Sampson 

(Police Consultant), and Deborah Lamm Weisel (North Carolina State University). 

Members of the San Diego; National City, California; and Savannah, Georgia police 

departments provided feedback on the guides’ format and style in the early stages of 

the project.

Debra Cohen and Kimberly Nath oversaw the project for the COPS Office. Phyllis 

Schultze conducted research for the guide at Rutgers University’s Criminal Justice Library. 

Nancy Leach coordinated the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing’s production process. 

Suzanne Fregly edited this guide.
| 5 |

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women 

by Strangers

What This Guide Does and Does Not Cover

This guide begins by describing the problem of sexual assault of women by strangers and 

reviewing factors that increase its risks. It then lists a series of questions to help you analyze 

your local sexual assault problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is 

known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Sexual assault of women by strangers is but one aspect of the larger set of sexual violencerelated problems. This guide is limited to addressing the particular harms sexual assaults 

by strangers cause women. Related problems not directly addressed in this guide, each of 

which requires separate analysis, include the following:

•	 Sexual assault by acquaintances, including spousal and date rape†

•	 Sexual abuse of children, including statutory rape

•	 Sexual assault of sex-industry workers

•	 Sexual assault in prisons

•	 Sexual assault by multiple attackers, or gang rape

•	 Human trafficking

•	 False reporting of sexual assault

Some of these related problems are covered in other guides in this series, all of which are 

listed at the end of this guide. For the most up-to-date list of current and future guides, 

see www.popcenter.org. 

General Description of the Problem

Sexual assault describes offenses in which an assailant forces a victim to participate in a 

variety of sexual behaviors that may include the actual or attempted penetration of the 

vagina, anus, or mouth with the penis or an object. Legal definitions tend to separate rape, 

which involves actual penetration, from nonconsensual sexual contact or attempted rape. 

This guide addresses all types of sexual contact by force.

† See Problem-Specific Guide No. 17, Acquaintance Rape of College Students, for more information on this latter type of

sexual assault. Although sexual assaults have commonalities (e.g., the behavior involved, the impact on the victim), sexu

assaults by strangers differ from those committed by acquaintances in important ways (e.g., the relationship between th

offender and victim; the method of approaching the victim; the protective strategies that can be employed by women to reduce 

their likelihood of being assaulted). For these reasons, separate Problem-Specific Guides were create
| 6 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Most offenders rape to satisfy their need for power and control, and they use various forced 

sexual acts to do so.1 In other words, the sexual act is the means, rather than the motive, 

for sexual assault. Although acquaintances commit most sexual assaults, this guide focuses 

on those that strangers commit. Contact between the victim and the offender is limited 

to when the assault occurs. Males commit nearly all sexual assaults, and most victims are 

female.2 Both males and females sometimes sexually assault males, but very little research 

discusses male victims.† Thus, this guide focuses only on female victims. 

Prevalence 

Unfortunately, the failure of data on sexual assault to make important distinctions and gaps 

in the research that limit our understanding of the problem hamper this guide. As shown 

by the statistics below, much of what we believe we know about sexual assault of women by 

strangers may not be valid because of the comingling of data on stranger and acquaintance 

rape in the research, when the offenders, victims, and locations (the elements that provide 

all of the information one needs for good problem-solving) associated with the two types of 

sexual assault actually differ a lot. 

Researchers generate statistics on the prevalence of sexual assault from two main sources: 

reported crimes and victimization surveys.‡ Researchers estimate that approximately 20 

percent of women in the United States have been sexually assaulted.3 Acquaintances 

assaulted at least three-quarters of these women, while strangers attacked approximately 

one-quarter of them. 

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, people reported approximately 89,000 

rapes to police in 2008, a rate of 29.3 rapes per 100,000 inhabitants.4 The number of 

reported rapes has remained relatively stable for the past 10 years, decreasing only 0.5 

percent between 1999 and 2008. The rate of reported rapes decreased approximately 

11 percent during that same period. However, most researchers agree that statistics relying 

on reported rapes fail to represent the number of sexual assaults that actually occur in the 

United States because most victims do not report the assaults to police.5

† Researchers have conducted a few studies of sexual assault against males, including Abdullah-Kahn (2008); Stermac, del 

Bove, and Addison (2004); and Davies (2002). While underreporting occurs among female victims, it is particularly pronounced

among male victims. As a result, our knowledge of the dynamics of sexual assault against males is quite limite

‡ As both of these tend to combine data for rapes committed by strangers and acquaintances, the statistics reported here 

include both types, unless otherwise indicated
| 7 |

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

The National Violence Against Women Survey, completed in 1995 and 1996,6 remains the 

most rigorous victimization study on the topic. Offenders raped approximately 302,000 

women in the year preceding the survey. Someone the women knew raped the vast majority 

of them (83 percent). Only 21 percent of respondents raped by strangers reported the 

attack to the police, meaning that police did not know about nearly 80 percent of all 

stranger rapes. Although the United Kingdom has a lower incidence of rape, the British 

Crime Survey has revealed this same rate of underreporting.7 As a result, the number 

of sexual assaults reported to police reveals only a small fragment of the problem and is 

unlikely to be particularly helpful to problem-solving efforts. To accurately understand the 

problem, communities must first understand and address the issues underlying victims’ 

reluctance to report sexual assault to police. 

Underreporting by Victims

Without knowing offenses have occurred, police cannot identify and arrest suspects, and 

prosecutors cannot prosecute offenders. The criminal justice system’s deterrent value is lost. 

Further, in cases of sexual assault by a stranger, the victim is often the only witness. The 

victim’s cooperation is therefore essential to an effective criminal justice response. Police 

would have substantially more information about the dynamics of sexual assault by strangers, 

and how to prevent them, if they could encourage more victims to report their assaults. 

Women choose not to report their rape to police for many reasons.8 Some feel partially 

responsible, ashamed, or embarrassed about what happened to them. Others may have been 

engaged in illegal activity (e.g., drug use, prostitution, underage drinking) when the assault 

occurred and worry that police will treat them insensitively. Some are concerned their 

involvement in the criminal justice system will be burdensome. Still others fear retribution 

from the offender. While these barriers to reporting are not insurmountable, they will likely 

require strategies specifically designed to help victims overcome them. 

The research literature indicates that women are more likely to report their victimization 

when they have actively resisted the attack, when the assailant has physically injured them, or 

when the assailant used a weapon or forced them to participate in particularly depraved acts. 

These factors may help women to define what happened to them as an assault.9 Further, 

those who seek medical treatment promptly and who believe their family and friends will 

support their decision to report their assault to the police are more likely to do so.10
| 8 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Victims’ Experiences With Police

Much literature discusses sexual assault victims’ experiences with the police who handled 

their cases when they chose to report. While several studies show that victims’ experiences 

with police have improved in recent years, negative interactions continue to occur.11

Sometimes called the “second victimization,” poor treatment by police has been said to 

increase the distress, alienation, and self-blame that many victims experience. Studies of 

police interviews with sexual assault victims have found fault with officers who question 

victims about their clothing, alcohol or drug use, resistance level, prior sexual encounters, 

and sexual responses to the assault.12 In other words, when police use the “Why not?” form 

of questioning (e.g., “Why didn’t you scream? Fight back? Tell anyone?”), the self-blame 

that already burdens many victims increases.13 Victims have also complained that police 

seemed reluctant to take the report and/or to refer them for a forensic evaluation, or that 

police otherwise implied that the case was not serious.14

Challenges for Acknowledging the Problem

Perceptions about what constitutes “real rape” affect how police, prosecutors, judges, juries, 

and the general public view the problem of sexual assault. Common distortions include the 

following:

•	 Beliefs that the victim may be partially to blame for the assault (e.g., the victim 

provoked the attack through her appearance, behavior, or sexual history)

•	 Beliefs that the offender may not be fully responsible for his behavior (e.g., the male sex 

drive is difficult to control)15

In addition, the regrettable problem of false reporting may also affect how police view 

alleged victims. Some victims may be unsure of the details, confused as a result of their 

use of drugs or alcohol, or lying about some aspect of the experience, but may be truthful 

about the general fact they were assaulted. While most police have experienced an alleged 

victim who falsely reports a sexual assault, the professional literature on the topic is very 

sparse. Many researchers fear addressing the topic because it is politically risky to do so.16

Researchers widely cite a 2 percent false-reporting rate for sexual assault in commentary 

on the subject; however, scientists have thoroughly investigated this claim and found that 

the research does not support it.17 The two research studies that have examined the issue 

cite very different rates of false reporting (17 percent and 50 percent).18 Unfortunately, as 

most research on sexual assault has done, these studies comingled data on sexual assaults by 

strangers and those by acquaintances. 
| 9 |

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Researchers have more widely examined the motives for false reporting. They have found 

that a need for attention from friends or significant others, a desire to access medical 

treatment for sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy, or an attempt to explain an 

inappropriate absence to a significant other or parent has motivated women to falsely 

report sexual assaults.19

Distortions about what constitutes “real rape” and the problem of false reports of sexual 

assault make it difficult for some communities to acknowledge the true extent of their 

sexual assault problem. Not only can they lead to biases in how police and prosecutors 

handle reports of sexual assault, but also false reports add imprecise data to measures of 

the prevalence of sexual assault. 

Harms Caused by Sexual Assault

In varying degrees, victims experience emotional, physical, social, and sexual problems as 

a result of being sexually assaulted. Some women suffer severe injuries, contract sexually 

transmitted diseases, or get pregnant.20 Nearly all women experience psychological anguish, 

and many experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at some point in their lives.21 In the 

short term, most women experience some combination of fear and anxiety; denial, shock, 

and disbelief; guilt, hostility, and blame; and feelings of helplessness or a loss of control.22

Longer-term effects may include disturbances in eating and sleeping; strained relationships 

with family, friends, and partners; difficulty maintaining employment; and sexual 

problems.23 Recovering from these effects requires support from helping professionals, 

friends, and family and may take a long time. 

Factors Contributing to Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem will help you frame your own 

local analysis questions, determine good effectiveness measures, recognize key intervention 

points, and select appropriate responses. Because so many sexual assaults go unreported 

to police, data on offender and victim characteristics and locations and times when sexual 

assaults by strangers occur are very limited and may be misleading. You will need additional 

information from local victimization studies, rape crisis centers, and hospitals to fully 

understand your problem. 
| 10 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Figure 1. Sexual Assault Analysis Triangle.†

The sexual assault analysis triangle in Figure 1 may help to frame the important factors 

contributing to the problem. Rather than being determined by a single factor, sexual assault 

may result when (1) a motivated offender and (2) a vulnerable victim cross paths in (3) a 

location without capable guardians. Depending on the nature of your local sexual assault 

problem, each triangle side’s relative importance will vary. You may be able to reduce sexual 

assault by addressing one triangle side (e.g., providing programs for women designed to 

reduce their vulnerability to an attack), but you will likely have better results if you identify 

responses that simultaneously target offenders, victims, and locations where sexual assaults 

are likely to occur. 

Sexual Assault Phases 

How offenders plan or commit sexual assaults highlights situational characteristics that can 

inform prevention efforts. Transactions during sexual assaults are usually unstable given 

that the offender must maintain control over the victim and manage situational variables to 

continue the assault. Researchers developed the specific phases of sexual assaults discussed 

below through interviews with incarcerated rapists who were strangers to their victims.24

† The problem analysis triangle originates from routine activity theory, which posits that for a crime to occur, a motivated 

offender is present, a suitable target (victim) is available, and no suitable guardian is around to prevent the crime. See the

Problem-Oriented Policing Center website, www.popcenter.org, for more information on routine activity theo

Offenders

•	 Motivations

•	 Method of attack

•	 Familiarity with area

Victims

•	 Vulnerability

•	 Level of resistance

•	 Willingness to report 

the crime to police

Locations

•	 Natural surveillance

•	 Guardianship/bystanders

•	 Presence of disinhibitors

Sexual

Assault
| 11 |

The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

First, most sexual offenders have a series of preexisting life problems and tensions and have 

trouble coping with everyday life. These personally troubling events generally become 

particularly severe immediately before the assault. A specific event may increase the 

perpetrator’s sense of futility and anger and may heighten his motivation to offend. 

This motivation then transforms into action. The offender may be determined to rape 

someone from the outset or may decide to assault a woman encountered some other 

way (e.g., by providing help, through a social encounter, or during another crime). Some 

offenders choose victims simply because they are there, while others choose victims because 

they have specific characteristics that are meaningful to the offender. Some offenders 

initiate the attack impulsively, while others ensure the surroundings are appropriate and 

then wait for a suitable victim to emerge. 

Once the offender targets a victim, he engages her, either verbally or physically, to gain 

control. The sudden, unexpected confrontation gives the victim little opportunity to 

decide whether and how to resist. Once offenders establish control of their victims, most 

offenders struggle to gain control of their own emotions while conducting the assault. 

During this time, they will usually either physically dominate the victim or negotiate 

cooperation verbally. 

Most assailants do not have weapons during the assault.25 They are far more likely to 

threaten physical harm and to punch or slap victims. Although offenders sometimes injure 

their victims with weapons, they tend to use weapons to control and to inhibit resistance 

rather than to physically harm the victim.26

Finally, the offender must leave the scene. Many simply flee without any organized activity 

to conceal their actions or their identity. Others may threaten to retaliate if the victim 

reports the crime and may take steps to destroy evidence. 

Dissecting the various phases of the assault highlights areas in which potential victims could 

be better protected. Further, the locations where sexual assaults are likely to occur could be 

adapted to make assaults more difficult to commit. 

Victims

The National Violence Against Women Survey found that slightly more nonwhite women 

reported having been raped in their lifetime than white women (20 percent versus 18 

percent, respectively) and that rape occurs at an early age.27 Just over half of the women 

reported their first rape occurred before they were 18. Thirty percent were raped between 

the ages of 18 and 24, and 17 percent were raped at age 25 or older. 
| 12 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, young, unmarried women are the 

most common victims of sexual assault, although their vulnerability may result from their 

being more likely to associate with younger men or to frequent risky places.28 You should 

interpret these data with caution because they combine victims of sexual assaults by both 

strangers and acquaintances.

Offenders may pick a victim at random, simply because she is available. Other offenders 

may select a victim because she has certain characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, hair color, size, 

dress style) that symbolically represent something that has angered him. Women who are 

alone and appear to be distracted or otherwise unaware of their surroundings (e.g., talking 

on a cell phone, intoxicated, lost) may be easier to approach undetected and to overpower. 

Offenders

Studies of incarcerated rapists indicate that younger men generally commit sexual 

assaults against strangers.29 Most researchers believe that rapists have generally negative 

or adversarial attitudes toward women. Although they may have had difficulty sustaining 

adult relationships, the offenders studied usually had access to consensual sexual partners.30

Offenders who participated in research on sexual assault often exhibited a sense of 

sexual entitlement, need for power and control, hostility and anger, and acceptance of 

interpersonal violence of all kinds.31 Studies of incarcerated rapists have also found that a 

large proportion had at least one previous conviction, although it was generally not for a 

sex offense and tended to be for a violent crime, burglary, or theft.32 Among those studied, 

most rapists were not exclusively sex offenders. However, those who were convicted of a sex 

offense were far more likely than other offenders to commit a subsequent sex offense.33

Locations and Times

The rate of reported sexual assaults is highest in cities outside of major metropolitan 

areas and lowest in nonmetropolitan areas.34 Unfortunately, victimization studies do not 

collect data on the locations where assaults occur. A study of incarcerated stranger rapists 

in the United Kingdom found that nearly two-thirds of the assaults occurred in public 

places, including parks, deserted streets, public buildings, and bars and nightclubs. Smaller 

proportions occurred in the perpetrator’s or the victim’s home.35
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The Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Most researchers believe that sexual assaults take place in relatively isolated areas where the 

risk of intervention by bystanders is limited. One study of convicted rapists found that 

they committed most sexual assaults near their homes.36 Further, perpetrators were more 

likely to travel greater distances when they had targeted a specific location with a lot of 

suitable victims. Some attacked their victims in areas close to a previous residence because 

they were familiar with the neighborhood. Finally, some offenders spent considerable time 

prowling a targeted area, searching for a suitable victim. While unfortunately we know little 

about offenders’ connections to the places where sexual assaults occur, this relationship has 

important implications for problem solving. 

Most sexual assaults occur at night, under the cover of darkness and when fewer people are 

out in public. Intoxicated bar patrons, women who work late, or women who take night 

classes may travel home alone at night. 

Alcohol Use 

The use of alcohol, particularly in bars or other public places increases the risk of sexual 

assault in two ways. First, researchers believe alcohol decreases men’s inhibitions against 

using violence and increases their sexual interest, and thus their propensity to commit 

rape.37 Second, when women are intoxicated, they may pay less attention to cues that 

would normally alert them to potentially dangerous situations. As a result, they may fail 

to take precautions or may take risks that they would not otherwise take (e.g., walk home 

alone, accept a ride from a stranger).38 Further, a victim’s ability to resist an attack is 

compromised when she is intoxicated. In most cases of sexual assault by strangers where 

alcohol is involved, the victim voluntarily drinks and is not drugged or rendered intoxicated 

by the attacker.39

| 15 |

Understanding Your Local Problem

Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized description of sexual assault of 

women by strangers. You must combine the basic facts with a more specific understanding 

of your local problem. Carefully analyzing the local problem will help you design a more 

effective response strategy. 

Stakeholders

In addition to criminal justice agencies, the following groups may have an interest in the 

sexual assault problem, and you should consider them for the contribution they might 

make to gathering information about the problem and responding to it.

•	 Rape crisis centers, support groups, and other organizations that provide counseling to sexual 

assault victims. These agencies can be instrumental in providing details about risky 

locations, offender behavior and characteristics, and victim vulnerabilities in assaults 

not reported to police. They can also provide information on the barriers to reporting 

sexual assaults in your jurisdiction.

•	 Hospitals, women’s clinics, and urgent care clinics. Forensic medical evidence is crucial 

to successfully prosecute sexual assault cases. Not only can these agencies provide 

information on the types of injuries that occur during sexual assaults, but also they are 

critical partners in interagency sexual assault-prevention efforts. In addition, they can 

help to assess the need for and benefits of dedicated forensic medical staff.

•	 Women’s advocacy groups. Groups with established credibility among women may best 

implement responses that require access to potential victims.

•	 Private security forces in downtown areas, malls, or other places where sexual assaults occur. 

These agencies can contribute information on suspicious people who frequent particular 

areas that could benefit from improved safety features.

•	 Public transportation agencies. If sexual assaults occur on or near public transportation, 

these agencies may be able to implement specific environmental strategies to fortify the 

locations in which potential victims are vulnerable.

•	 Military officials. Communities with military bases may benefit from input from 

military police or other officials involved in handling cases of sexual assault by strangers 

that occur on base.

•	 Downtown business associations. These agencies have an interest in ensuring that women, 

including tourists and other potential customers, consider the areas safe. 

•	 Bar and nightclub associations. These organizations can help to support responses that 

target intoxication in public places as a contributing factor to sexual assault.
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Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

•	 Neighborhood Watch programs. These programs can support police efforts to increase 

surveillance of risky locations.

•	 Homeowners’ associations. Active associations may be able to supply information on risky 

locations and other factors that contribute to the problem.

•	 School districts and local colleges and universities. Not only are students at these 

institutions potential victims, but also the schedule of night classes and the lack of safe 

transportation may contribute to the problem.

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should ask when analyzing your particular 

sexual assault problem, even if the answers are not always readily available. Your answers to 

these and other questions will help you choose the most appropriate set of responses later on. 

Incidents

•	 How many sexual assaults occur in your community? (Do not limit your inquiry to only 

those offenses charged as sexual assaults. Other offenses, such as homicides, kidnappings, 

and burglaries, may subsume sexual assault charges, even though the offenses included 

forced sexual acts. You should train department research staff to ensure that each distinct 

offense is tallied, rather than subsumed by other offenses occurring in a single incident.)

•	 How many sexual assaults are committed by a stranger versus someone the victim knows? 

•	 How many attempted sexual assaults occur in your community? What stops these 

assaults (e.g., the attacker flees when the victim resists, a bystander intervenes)?

•	 How many reports do police receive? Why do some women choose not to report they 

have been attacked?

Victims

•	 What are sexual assault victims’ characteristics in terms of age, marital status, ethnicity, 

education level, activity involvement, occupation, etc.?

•	 Are there repeat sexual assault victims? Do their characteristics differ from one-time 

victims? (Separate adult and childhood victimizations, as they will lead to different 

outcomes.)

•	 What are victims doing just before they are attacked? What is their distraction level? 

Are they intoxicated?
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Understanding Your Local Problem

•	 To what extent do victims resist the attack, and how do they do so (e.g., verbally, 

physically, with a weapon)? What types of weapons do victims use (e.g., guns, knives, 

pepper spray, rocks)? 

•	 Do offenders injure victims during the attack? How severely? What percentage of 

victims seek medical treatment? For what types of issues (e.g., injuries, sexually 

transmitted diseases, pregnancy)? 

•	 Whom do the victims tell about the attack?

•	 How often do victims use rape crisis centers’ services?

•	 How many victims have had self-defense training? How many victims carry a selfprotection item (e.g., whistle, pepper spray, gun)?

Offenders

•	 What characteristics do offenders who commit sexual assault have [e.g., age, ethnicity, 

marital status, education level, occupation, group affiliations (e.g., university fraternities, 

the military, gangs)]?

•	 How far from the attack scene do offenders live? How well do they know the area? 

If offenders are not local, how do they become familiar with the area?

•	 How long have offenders lived in the community?

•	 What percentage of offenders are under the influence of alcohol or drugs during 

the assault?

•	 What motivates the offenders to attack?

•	 What percentage of offenders take something from the victim (e.g., an item with 

monetary or sentimental value, a seemingly insignificant item)?

•	 What percentage of offenders have criminal records? For what types of offenses? 

What percentage of offenders are on probation or parole when they attack?

•	 What patterns exist in how offenders approach and control their victims? 

•	 What percentage of sexual assaults involve more physical force than needed to gain and 

maintain control of the victim?

•	 What percentage of offenders use a weapon? What type of weapon?
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Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Locations and Times

•	 Where do sexual assaults occur? Do obvious hotspots exist? 

•	 Where are victims traveling to or from when offenders attack them? 

•	 Do the places where sexual assaults occur have obvious safety flaws (e.g., poor lighting, 

poorly maintained shrubbery, abandoned buildings, no surveillance cameras)?

•	 What businesses, high-traffic areas, or other places where people congregate are nearby? 

•	 At what time of day do most sexual assaults occur? On what days of the week? At what 

times of the year? 

•	 Does the incidence of sexual assault increase during certain community events (e.g., 

community festivals, sporting events, holiday celebrations)?

Current Responses

•	 What community programs are available to reduce men’s propensity to commit sexual 

assaults? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

•	 What community programs are available to help women avoid sexual assault? Has 

anyone assessed their effectiveness?

•	 What initiatives has anyone taken to increase community awareness of the sexual 

assault problem?

•	 What strategies has anyone used to enhance the safety of locations where sexual assaults 

occur? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

•	 What initiatives has anyone taken to increase victims’ likelihood to report crime to the 

police? Has anyone assessed their effectiveness?

•	 How well do reporting victims say they were treated by police during the investigation? 

•	 What percentage of reported sexual assaults do police clear by arrest?

•	 What percentage of reported sexual offenders do prosecutors take to court? 

•	 What percentage of offenders accused of sexual assault are convicted? Incarcerated?

•	 What types of sentences do convicted offenders receive? Do offenders comply with their 

sentences’ terms? 
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Understanding Your Local Problem

Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine how much your efforts have succeeded, and 

suggests how you might modify your responses if they are not producing the intended 

results. You should take measures of your problem before you implement responses, to 

determine how serious the problem is, and after you implement them, to determine 

whether they have been effective. You should take all measures in both the target area 

and the surrounding area. (For more-detailed guidance on measuring effectiveness, see 

Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 1, Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide 

for Police Problem-Solvers, and Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 10, Analyzing Crime 

Displacement and Diffusion.) 

The following are potentially useful measures of the effectiveness of responses to sexual 

assaults of women by strangers. Process indicators show the extent to which the police 

properly implemented the responses. Outcome indicators show the extent to which the 

responses reduced the level or severity of the problem.

Process Indicators

You should use the following process indicators in your assessment:

•	 Increased compatibility between the number of women who report sexual assaults 

to police and the number who report them to rape crisis centers or in victimization 

surveys

•	 Increased number of women who feel prepared to defend themselves against an attacker

•	 Increased number of community members who know the problem’s severity and will 

intervene to prevent an attack 

•	 Improved safety features at locations where sexual assaults could potentially occur

•	 Increased number of sexual assaults cleared by arrest

•	 Increased number of sexual assaults successfully investigated and prosecuted 

Outcome Indicators

You should use the following outcome indicators in your assessment:

•	 Reduced number of sexual assaults by strangers

•	 Reduced number and severity of injuries women suffer during sexual assaults

•	 Increased proportion of attempted rapes compared with completed rapes

| 21 |

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault 

of Women by Strangers

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better understanding of the factors 

contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline 

for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible responses to address the problem. 

The following response strategies provide a foundation of ideas for addressing your 

particular problem. These strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and police 

reports. Several of these strategies may apply to your community’s problem. It is critical that 

you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based 

on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several 

different responses. Law enforcement responses alone rarely reduce or solve the problem. 

Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do: carefully consider whether others 

in your community share responsibility for the problem and can help police better respond 

to it. In some cases, you may need to shift the responsibility of responding to those who 

can implement more-effective responses. (For more-detailed information on shifting and 

sharing responsibility, see Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for 

Public Safety Problems.)

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy†

1. Implementing a multifaceted response. The crime analysis triangle presented earlier 

(see Figure 1 on pg. 10) highlights the three critical factors needed for a sexual assault 

to occur (i.e., a motivated offender, a suitable victim, and a location lacking capable 

guardians). You will have a more effective sexual assault prevention strategy when you 

simultaneously address multiple sides of this triangle rather than rely on responses 

that address only one part. Selecting several of the specific responses listed below will 

enhance your strategy’s overall effectiveness. 

† In recent years, improvements in investigative techniques, evidence collection, and forensics have significantly affected the 

ability to respond effectively to sexual assaults. While important, these innovations are covered elsewhere (e.g., Savino a

Turvey 2005) and thus not discussed in this guide
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Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

2. Developing an interagency collaboration. An appropriate response to the crime 

of sexual assault will involve, at a minimum, criminal justice, medical, and social 

service agencies.† Police officers investigate the facts and prosecutors try cases; medical 

professionals provide medical attention for physical injuries and collect forensic 

evidence; and social service agencies provide emotional and logistical support to 

victims. While no single agency can perform all of these functions, each agency 

depends on the others to do their jobs so that it can do its own. Several jurisdictions 

have formed formal collaborations with staff from these agencies. Called Sexual 

Assault Response Teams (SART) or Sexual Assault Response Centers (SARC), these 

collaborations provide a support system that reduces the burden and trauma on 

victims as they negotiate the criminal justice process.‡

Cross-training is essential to a coordinated response.40 All stakeholders should be 

exposed to a core curriculum of the dynamics of sex offending, characteristics of 

offenders, needs of victims, specialized risk assessments for sex offenders, and core 

principles of evidence-based treatment.41 They must also gain the knowledge and 

skill to fulfill their specific responsibilities. Medical staff must recognize the evidentiary 

issues police and prosecutors face. Police and prosecutors must appreciate how badly 

the traumas affect the victims’ emotional states and their ability to participate in 

the legal process.§ Victim advocates must understand the legal system so they can 

accurately respond to victims’ questions about the process. 

Studies of SARTs and SARCs have found that paid, full-time staff provide higherquality and prompter services than part-time staff or volunteers, who are usually less 

well trained, may not stay abreast of current research, and may not be as dependable.42

Further, with formal links between agencies, communities can gather better 

information on the size and scope of their sexual assault problem.¶

† The Office for Victims of Crime’s manual on the development and operation of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) 

programs includes useful sections on multiagency sexual assault response teams (Ledray 1999). Further, the Memphis Police

Department engaged in a multiagency project to reduce the incidence of sexual assault. Surveys of partners indicated that

the project fostered collaboration, generated buy-in from non-law enforcement agencies, implemented new approaches, and 

generated additional funding to solve the problem (Coldren and Forde 2010)

‡ The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape developed guidelines for developing a SART. The guidelines focus on the

development of formal protocols for interagency communication and emphasize treating victims with fairness, dignity, and 

respect throughout the process (see Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape 2002)

§ Savino and Turvey’s Rape Investigation Handbook provides excellent guidance to police officers in their duties as first 

responders and investigators of complex sexual assault cases (Savino and Turvey 2005)

¶ San Diego County’s SART studied the approximately 4,000 sexual assaults it handled between 1993 and 2001. Those involved

may use data on victim characteristics and times and locations for assaults to develop specific response strategies, and use data 

on wait times for victims’ services to enhance service quality (see County of San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team 2003)
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Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Specific Responses To Reduce Sexual Assault of Women by 

Strangers

Victim-Oriented Responses†

3. Supporting sexual assault victims. A victim’s advocate from the police, prosecutor’s 

office, or local rape crisis center can address victims’ emotional needs. Many times, 

victims will work with advocates from all three of these agencies at different stages 

following the disclosure of the offense, investigation, and prosecution. Advocates 

escort the victim through the major stages of the criminal justice and medical 

response to the assault. Key duties include providing emotional support during 

police interviews, during medical exams, and anytime thereafter; explaining legal 

and medical procedures; outlining available options for medical treatment and police 

reporting; and answering victims’ questions. With the victims’ consent, advocates can 

act as a liaison with the various agencies and service providers. 

Advocates’ support of victims allows police and prosecutors to focus on investigating 

and prosecuting offenders. Advocates’ work with victims is often long-term, spanning 

from the time of the assault through the entire criminal proceeding, and sometimes 

well after. Victims receive better services if they have a single dedicated advocate rather 

than transferring to different advocates as their cases progress.43 Finally, the advocate 

protects the victim’s best interests by observing medical staff, police, and prosecutor’s 

processes and behaviors to ensure they treat the victim with dignity and respect.44

Their support may make the process less stressful and more predictable, and thus 

may increase the likelihood that the victim will participate in the investigation and 

prosecution of the offender.‡

4. Making forensic medical exams less burdensome. While collecting forensic evidence 

remains a crucial function of the team’s medical component, historically, victims 

have had to endure long waits in hospital emergency rooms and then treatment by 

medical staff unfamiliar with the intricacies of sexual assault cases and the types of 

† Additional resources for working with victims are available from the Office on Violence Against Women 

(see www.ovw.usdoj.gov) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (see www.ncvc

‡ The Memphis Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiatives (SACSI) program developed a multiagency initiative 

to reduce sexual assault. Believing that interventions designed to keep more cases in the pipeline toward arrest, prosecution,

and sentencing would lead to a stronger deterrent effect and reduction in the rate of sexual assault, the program developed 

interventions to maintain victims’ interest and desire to persist with prosecution. The Memphis Police Department altered

its response procedures for sexual assault calls and improved the physical space for victim interviews in the Sex Crimes Unit 

(Coldren and Forde 2010)
| 24 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

evidence police need to progress with the case.45 To counteract these problems, many 

jurisdictions developed Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs staffed by 

nurses with special training in the technology of sexual-assault evidence collection and 

documentation and the emotional ramifications for victims.† Regular meetings with 

members of the interagency collaboration can help SANE nurses to stay abreast of 

changing legal standards and feedback from advocates regarding victims’ experiences 

with the forensic/medical process. With a 24-hour on-call program, SANE nurses 

relieve emergency room staff from these duties and shorten wait times for both victims 

and police. SANE nurses’ specialized training and experience often results in higherquality evidence and more-skillful court testimony.46 However, in some jurisdictions, 

people have criticized SANE nurses for being “too aligned with the victim,” and thus 

they must remain impartial when providing assistance.47

5. Improving police skill in interviewing victims. Encouraging victims to report 

sexual assaults requires efforts to prevent “secondary victimization,” and you can do 

so by refining police interviewing skills with sexual assault victims. A positive first 

contact with police may also encourage victims to participate in the investigation and 

prosecution of the assault. 

Most people find the amount of detail a police interview requires unusual, and they 

may find it particularly difficult when police ask them to recount a highly personal 

and distressing event such as a sexual assault. People react to trauma in different ways 

and have varying styles when informing others about their experience. Victims may be 

highly emotional, with their distress clearly evident, discussing the event in a trembling 

voice with occasional spells of crying. They may also be far more controlled and lowkey, appearing to be numb or resigned. Importantly, the victim’s presentation style 

conveys no information at all about the veracity of the allegation or how distressed they 

are by it.48 Thus, to collect the most useful and reliable information, police must be 

able to adapt their interviewing style to accommodate victims’ diverse needs.‡ Not only 

does skilled interviewing generate better information, but also quality initial contacts 

with police can help victims to recover from trauma.49

† The Office for Victims of Crime published a manual on the development and operation of SANE programs (Ledray 1999)

‡ Epstein and Langenbahn (1994), Lonsway and Welch (1999), Jordan (2001), Lessel and Kapila (2001), and Woods (2008) offer 

concrete guidance for interviewing sexual assault victims. They highlight the importance of clearly assuring victims that they

believe them, being patient, giving victims choices about how to proceed and the time necessary to decide what to do, and 

taking time to explain questions and why they need to ask them
| 25 |

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Studies of police training programs have found that some police lack skill in 

reading the victims’ level of preparedness to answer questions; inform victims 

about the consequences of reporting (e.g., warning that the trial will be difficult) 

too soon; and structure the interview according to their desire to have the story told 

chronologically and efficiently, rather than according to victims’ need to tell their 

story at their own pace.50

Videotaped role-play exercises, with actresses playing the part of victims, help police 

to develop interviewing skills across a broad spectrum of communication styles. 

Researchers have found training programs that rely on lecture and discussion, without 

opportunities for skill development and practice, to be less effective.51 Research shows 

that jurisdictions that provide specific training to police on handling sexual assault 

cases have more cases in which victims willingly participate in the criminal justice 

process and a greater proportion of cases that are prosecuted.52

6. Teaching women self-protection. Women who experience a completed rape have 

more severe emotional reactions than those who manage to avoid a rape.53 Several 

research studies have shown that immediate, active resistance (e.g., yelling, running 

away, fighting back) reduces the likelihood that an offender will complete a rape.54

Reporting this research finding is in no way intended to minimize the very serious 

emotional consequences of any type of sexual assault or to imply that assaults that 

do not involve penetration are not “real assaults.” Instead, these research findings are 

presented to inform harm-reduction efforts in response to sexual assault. 

Rape-avoidance training should provide information on the warning signs of 

sexual aggression and how strangers may select and approach potential victims.55

Resistance begins by quickly diagnosing the situation and acknowledging it as a 

potential sexual assault. From there, effective victim self-protective behaviors fall 

under three main categories:

•	 Forceful verbal resistance: using powerful language (e.g., screaming, yelling, 

threatening) to either scare off the offender or attract bystanders’ attention

•	 Nonforceful physical resistance: passive efforts to evade the attack, including pulling 

away, running away, or removing the offender’s hands 

•	 Forceful physical resistance: aggressive behavior against the offender, including 

hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, or using a weapon56
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Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

If they choose to resist, victims should meet the attacker’s level of force. As the offender 

approaches, yelling and fleeing may be sufficient. As the attack becomes more physical, 

victims may need to respond more forcefully. Self-defense programs should teach 

women a diverse set of strategies designed to achieve a certain effect (e.g., to create 

distance between the attacker and victim, to attract bystander attention) so they can 

choose what best fits the situation and their own comfort level.57

Nonforceful verbal resistance, such as trying to reason with the offender or begging, 

may not prevent rape completion because it may increase the offender’s desire to appear 

and/or feel powerful and dominant.58

Self-defense training should not involve only skill development, but also should 

help women to mentally prepare for the unfortunate case of being attacked. 

Emphasizing resistance may cause victims to believe they must resist for the assault to 

be viewed as legitimate. Police should challenge this notion and encourage women to 

contemplate what they are prepared to do and the resistance level with which they are 

comfortable.59 Although research has shown that resistance decreases the likelihood 

that an offender will complete a rape, each situation is different. Some women may fear 

for their life and determine that not resisting is safest.

7. Offering safe transportation or escort services. Offering safe, legal transportation 

to women leaving bars and nightclubs, walking home from work, or leaving night 

classes can limit the opportunities available to motivated offenders. Many colleges 

and universities provide safe transportation during late-night hours, as do some cities 

during busy holiday seasons or special events. For this response to be effective, analysis 

must accurately identify high-risk times and locations. Police should also identify 

illegal operated services (e.g., gypsy cabs) they have linked to sexual assaults.†

† A cruel irony in London’s sexual assault problem was that illegal minicab drivers committed a significant proportion of sexual 

assaults, attacking about 18 women per month. Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police Service, and London’s mayor raised

public awareness of the problem, cracked down on illegal cabs, and provided safe late-night transportation in the area. Over four

years, the number of sexual assaults of this type decreased by about 45 percent (Transport for London 2006)
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Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Offender-Oriented Responses

8. Detecting prowlers. Although many sexual assaults occur spontaneously, some 

offenders spend considerable time observing and assessing a specific location, waiting 

for a suitable victim to emerge.60 You can use police foot patrols, Neighborhood 

Watch, and other programs designed to increase the surveillance of risky areas to 

identify men who appear to be lingering in the area or whom people have often seen 

in the area and who have no apparent legitimate purpose there. The police should 

receive physical descriptions of these men so they can informally question them. Even 

if a suspect has fled the scene before police arrive, police should still interview the 

caller and neighbors and document the suspicious activity. 

9. Encouraging involvement by community members. Community residents can help 

to prevent sexual assault in various ways. Reporting crimes in progress as quickly as 

possible to police enhances the likelihood that the police will identify and catch the 

perpetrator, and agreeing to participate as a witness will increase the likelihood of a 

successful prosecution. High levels of resident crime-prevention activity (i.e., increased 

guardianship) in a specific area may suggest to offenders that committing a crime 

would be too risky.61

10. Collaborating with probation and parole officers to identify suspects. Police often 

have only a physical description of the offender and information about his behavior 

or verbal interactions with the victim. Sharing this information with probation and 

parole officers can help police identify a suspect, given that there may be similarities 

to the offender’s prior behavior.62 Subtle facts about the offense or offender may 

enable a probation or parole officer to associate the new crime with a past offender.

THE ANCHORAGE (ALASKA) POLICE DEPARTMENT developed a crime intervention unit to increase 

surveillance in places and at times men were most likely to sexually assault women. Police trained

about 40 volunteers to recognize suspicious behaviors, to contact police, and to provide identifying 

information. Plainclothes officers patrolled hotspots and responded to information volunteers provide

Officers also developed rapport with prostitutes and collected information about sexually violent men in 

the area. Although the program experienced short-term success, its effectiveness was limited because

the department routinely pulled assigned officers into situations that patrol should have handled. Police

also suspected that potential offenders moved to other areas (Whitehead 2005; Demer 2005)
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Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

11. Using validated risk assessments to identify the supervision needs of known 

sex offenders in the community. You or those qualified should assess a known 

sex offender’s risk of committing a subsequent sexual offense using an instrument 

designed and validated specifically to do so.63 Parole and probation officers should 

subject those offenders classified as high-risk to intensive supervision, with police 

support, as discussed below. Police should have a lot of information about risk factors 

that can change rapidly and that signal a need for immediate attention, such as 

increased hostility, substance abuse, or the collapse of social supports.64

12. Developing case-management plans to reduce the risk individual offenders pose. 

Plans to contain the risks posed by known sex offenders are most effective in reducing 

recidivism when they include both surveillance activities and intensive long-term 

treatment. Depending on their unique risk behaviors and collateral issues (e.g., drug 

use), offenders should have specific terms of community supervision developed for them. 

a. Monitoring offenders’ activities. Police can contribute to the effort to 

supervise and monitor known sexual offenders released from prison or jail to 

the community. When probation and parole officers share information about 

individual offenders’ risks, supervision conditions, treatment progress, employment 

status, etc., police can better detect questionable behaviors or violations of the 

conditions of supervision as they come across offenders during routine patrol 

or specific enforcement activities. You need formal interagency agreements to 

promote the exchange of information and to clearly delineate the team members’ 

roles and responsibilities. 

THE BELLEVUE (WASH.) POLICE DEPARTMENT uses trained volunteers to complete the state’s 

standardized risk assessment form for all known sex offenders in the city. Once they complete the form,

they meet with crime analysts to review and confirm the results. The volunteers’ careful review of all case

information ensures that crime analysts consider all details and accurately compile scores, which saves 

police, probation, and parole officers significant time. Since the department implemented the program,

the city has noted an increase in the number of offenders classified as medium- and high-risk, likely due 

to the more thorough review of case records (International Association of Chiefs of Police 2007)
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Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

For example, most police agencies are responsible for regularly verifying and 

updating sex offender registry information. While no one has proved the 

effectiveness of sex offender registries in reducing recidivism, research has shown 

that registration requirements enhance police, probation, and patrol officers’ 

surveillance efforts.65 Rather than simply ensuring the accuracy of an offender’s 

address, police can use the opportunity to provide an additional field contact.66

Particularly if police know the offender’s terms of supervision, they can assess 

apparent changes in his circumstances and survey other household members for 

indicators that the offender’s risk of recidivism has increased. If police note specific 

warning signs of assaultive behavior (e.g., contacting potential victims on the 

internet, calling 900 numbers, viewing pornography, possessing items used to bind 

victims), they should contact the offender’s probation or parole officer immediately. 

Although parole officers don’t supervise some registered sex offenders, police 

can still use information in their registries to search for a suspect with particular 

personal characteristics or methods. 

Police can effectively monitor an offender’s behavior by using Global Positioning 

Systems (GPS).67 Unlike electronic monitoring systems, which can indicate 

only whether the offender is at home, GPS can pinpoint an offender’s location 

within 10 to 15 feet. Active systems provide an offender’s real-time location and 

immediately alert supervision officers when an offender enters an area he’s not 

allowed to. Passive systems download and store information about an offender’s 

location but do not have an active systems’ immediate alert feature. 

b. Providing evidence-based treatment to known sex offenders. Programs that 

focus on changing attitudes about women or the extent to which potential 

offenders hold false perceptions or distorted beliefs about sexual assault have not 

produced long-term attitude change.68 Further, while it is important for men to 

understand the impact of sexual assault on women, programs focused solely on 

victim empathy are ineffective. 

IN KING COUNTY, WASH., the Seattle Police Department and Washington State Department of 

Corrections’ community corrections officers share office space to promote the daily exchange of 

information about known sex offenders in the community. Police also conduct community education

programs and enforce “no tolerance” for harassment or intimidation of sex offenders by community 

residents (Center for Sex Offender Management 2008)
| 30 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Therapists can reduce the risk of subsequent sexual offenses among known 

offenders with a set of interventions designed to change the thoughts and behaviors 

that predispose offenders to committing a sexual assault. Effective treatment 

programs focus on offenders’ actual sexual behaviors, arousal, planning, and 

rationalizations rather than stress, substance abuse, or childhood injuries that may 

contribute to, but not cause, their offending behavior.69

Through collateral contacts with police, probation, and parole officers, therapists 

should verify an offender’s self-reported behavior and attitudes throughout 

treatment. Further, therapists can enhance surveillance efforts when they provide 

those in the criminal justice system with information about the offender’s methods 

of operation and patterns of behavior that have historically preceded their assaults.70

You can then tailor the terms of supervision and surveillance plans to target these 

precursors so police can prevent new assaults. 

c. Using lie detectors to inform case-management planning and execution. 

Using lie detectors can support efforts to manage known sex offenders in the 

community by eliciting complete information on offenders’ current and historical 

risk factors. At the beginning of the supervision period, law enforcement staff 

can use lie detectors to compile a complete sexual behavior history, along with 

a detailed description of the types of victims and opportunities that have led 

to sexual assaults in the past.71 During the supervision period, staff can use lie 

detectors to verify the level of reported compliance with the terms of supervision 

or to investigate specific instances of noncompliance. To be most effective, police, 

probation, and parole officers, treatment providers, and lie detector examiners 

should work together to develop questions for individual offenders.72

Location-Oriented Responses

13. Limiting intoxication in public places. When other factors predisposing men 

to sexual violence exist, research has shown that high intoxication levels increase 

aggression among these men.73 Further, women may also be less aware of their 

surroundings when drunk and thus less capable of fending off an attacker. In areas 

with an active night life, encouraging responsible beverage service among nightclub 

and bar owners may decrease the intoxication level of potential perpetrators and 

victims. (See Problem-Specific Guide No. 1, Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd ed., for 

more information on implementing responses designed to decrease intoxication in 

public places.) 
| 31 |

Responses to the Problem of Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

14. Improving lighting. Sexual assaults tend to occur in isolated areas that have few 

opportunities for natural surveillance. Increasing the lighting in these areas could 

increase the risk of detection and intervention, causing the offender to consider the 

location too risky. Communities must be able to pinpoint the hotspots for sexual 

assaults for this response to be effective. (See Response Guide No. 8, Improving 

Street Lighting To Reduce Crime in Residential Areas, for further information on the 

effectiveness of improved lighting in reducing crime.)

15. Removing hiding spots. Offenders who select and approach their victims outdoors 

need an isolated spot from which they can observe the area. Those responsible should 

properly secure abandoned buildings and construction sites so that offenders can’t use 

them for cover. In addition, those responsible should cut back overgrown vegetation 

so that offenders no longer can hide in or behind it. You can find several ideas for 

enhancing the safety of urban parks and similar locations in Response Guide No. 9, 

Dealing With Crime and Disorder in Urban Parks. 

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

16. Reforming legislation. By the early 1980s, in an effort to counteract some of the 

problems inherent in prosecuting sexual assault cases, most states passed some form 

of rape-law reform legislation. Most states expanded their criminal codes to include 

a broader range of sexual offenses, graded by seriousness, rather than using only a 

single offense of “rape.” The reforms also shifted the focus from the victim’s behavior 

and whether she consented or resisted to the offender’s behavior and whether he 

used force or the threat of force. Finally, most states removed the requirement for 

corroborating witnesses and restricted the ability to introduce evidence about a 

victim’s sexual history (i.e., enacted “rape shield laws”). 

While these reforms made sexual assault cases somewhat easier to prosecute and 

certainly changed public attitudes and knowledge about sexual assault, reformers also 

hoped that these changes would increase the likelihood that victims would report 

sexual assaults to police and increase arrest rates.74 Unfortunately, for the most 

part, the legislative reforms did not have these effects. While some communities 

have experienced increases in the rate of prosecution of sexual assaults as a result of 

the reforms, on a large scale, the intended outcomes of increased indictments and 

convictions remain largely unchanged from their pre-reform levels.75 While the reform 

effort may have helped to change attitudes about sexual assault, most researchers have 

found that it was largely symbolic.76

| 33 |

Appendix 

Appendix: Summary of Responses to Sexual 

Assault of Women by Strangers

The table below summarizes the responses to sexual assault of women by strangers, the 

means by which they are meant to work, the conditions under which they should work 

best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. 

It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify 

each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve 

implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom 

effective in reducing or solving the problem.

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy

1 21 Implementing 

a multifaceted 

response

It simultaneously 

attacks several 

factors that 

contribute to 

sexual assault

...you have accurate data 

on your community’s 

sexual assault problem

Police data often do 

not show the extent 

of the problem and 

omit important 

victim, offender, 

and location 

characteristics

2 22 Developing 

an interagency 

collaboration

It relies on 

each agency’s 

specific expertise 

and requires 

coordination 

among agencies

...cross-training 

of agency staff is 

in place; full-time 

staff are assigned; 

formal protocols for 

communication and 

information-sharing 

are developed; team 

members develop 

methods to collect 

complete information 

about the sexual assault 

problem

Victims’ privacy 

wishes must be 

respected; distrust 

among team 

members can disrupt 

information-sharing 
| 34 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Specific Responses To Reduce Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Victim-Oriented Responses

3 23 Supporting sexual 

assault victims

It increases the 

likelihood that 

victims will report 

assaults to police

...victims work with 

a single advocate as 

long as needed and are 

not transferred among 

caseloads; advocates 

protect victims’ interests 

throughout all of the 

stages of the medical and 

criminal justice process, 

and beyond 

Even with emotional 

support, some 

victims will not 

want to report 

assaults to police 

4 23 Making forensic 

medical exams 

less burdensome

It increases the 

quality of forensic 

evidence

...nurses are on call 

24 hours; nurses have 

special training in the 

technology of forensic 

evidence collection and 

receive regular updates 

about changing legal 

procedures

Nurses who 

specialize in sexual 

assault examinations 

must remain 

impartial when 

examining the 

victim 

5 24 Improving 

police skill in 

interviewing 

victims

It increases 

the quality of 

information police 

obtain about 

reported sexual 

assaults 

...police adapt their 

interviewing style to 

the victim’s manner of 

presentation; training 

includes videotaped roleplay and feedback

Some victims may 

be more comfortable 

talking to an officer 

of a specific gender, 

so the department 

should have a diverse 

cadre of well-trained 

officers; well-paced 

interviews that 

are responsive to 

victims’ needs can be 

time-consuming
| 35 |

Appendix 

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

6 25 Teaching women 

self-protection

It increases the 

effort required 

for an offender to 

complete a sexual 

assault

...women consider 

the level of resistance 

with which they are 

comfortable long 

before an attack occurs; 

women stay alert for 

opportunities to flee or 

resist throughout the 

attack 

Emphasizing 

resistance may 

cause victims to 

believe they must 

resist for the police 

to view the assault 

as legitimate; 

emphasizing 

resistance by 

women may 

suggest that men 

are not ultimately 

responsible for their 

actions

7 26 Offering safe 

transportation or 

escort services

It limits the 

availability of 

potential victims

...the transportation is 

legal, credible, and easily 

accessible, and operates 

when and where women 

are at the highest risk of 

attack

If the analysis of 

high-risk times and 

places is inaccurate, 

this response will 

have no impact on 

the problem 

Offender-Oriented Responses

8 27 Detecting 

prowlers

It decreases the 

likelihood that a 

motivated offender 

will be able to 

commit a sexual 

assault

...foot patrols and 

volunteer groups focus 

on high-risk areas; 

volunteers are trained 

to identify suspicious 

behavior and to contact 

police; police interview 

callers and neighbors 

and document suspicious 

activity, even if the 

prowler has fled; police 

assigned to provide 

increased surveillance 

are not sidetracked with 

other assignments

Offenders may 

become aware 

of patrols and 

move to an area 

without increased 

surveillance 
| 36 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

9 27 Encouraging 

involvement 

by community 

members

It increases the 

likelihood of 

apprehension 

and successful 

prosecution of 

offenders

... residents feel a 

personal duty to address 

the problem of sexual 

assault; residents call 

police immediately to 

report an assault in 

progress; residents are 

willing to be formal 

witnesses 

Most offenders 

choose isolated 

locations to avoid 

being observed by 

bystanders 

10 27 Collaborating 

with probation 

and parole 

officers to identify 

suspects

It increases the 

likelihood of 

identifying a 

suspect

...police share subtle 

facts about offenders’ 

characteristics or 

behavior with parole and 

probation agents who 

are very familiar with 

the offenders on their 

caseloads 

Police may unfairly 

harass offenders who 

didn’t commit the 

crime in question

11 28 Using validated 

risk assessments 

to identify the 

supervision needs 

of known sex 

offenders in the 

community

It increases the 

likelihood that 

supervisors 

will address an 

offender’s risky 

behaviors before 

they escalate into a 

new sexual assault

...staff use an instrument 

specifically designed to 

assess the risk of sexual 

reoffending; police 

are aware of high-risk 

behaviors for individual 

offenders

Supervisors must 

adjust the intensity 

of supervision as the 

offender’s risk level 

changes

12 28 Developing casemanagement 

plans to reduce 

the risk individual 

offenders pose

It decreases 

offenders’ 

propensity to 

commit sexual 

assault

...staff balance plans 

between surveillance 

activities and longterm treatment; staff 

individualize plans based 

on each offender’s unique 

characteristics 

The management 

and treatment of 

high-risk offenders 

is costly; the 

community must 

have evidence-based 

treatment programs 
| 37 |

Appendix 

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

12a 28 Monitoring 

offenders’ 

activities

It decreases the 

likelihood that a 

motivated offender 

will be able to 

commit a sexual 

assault

...field contacts 

supplement office 

contacts; officers make 

collateral contacts with 

spouses, employers, 

roommates, etc. 

Field contacts are 

time-consuming; 

interagency 

agreements for 

information-sharing 

are required; GPS is 

very costly, depends 

on the availability 

of a cell-phone 

signal, and requires 

the offender’s 

cooperation 

12b 29 Providing 

evidence-based 

treatment to 

known sex 

offenders

It decreases the 

propensity of 

offenders to 

commit sexual 

assault

...the program focuses 

on examining offenders’ 

own behavior rather than 

changing attitudes or 

creating victim empathy; 

therapists verify selfreported behavior with 

police, probation, and 

parole officers; therapists 

share information about 

offenders’ risky behaviors 

with those responsible 

for monitoring them in 

the community

Interagency 

agreements for 

information-sharing 

are required; longterm intensive 

treatment can be 

costly 

12c 30 Using lie 

detectors to 

inform casemanagement 

planning and 

execution

It improves 

the quality of 

information 

available to 

therapists and 

officers responsible 

for supervising 

offenders in the 

community

...lie detector examiners 

are highly trained; 

examiners collaborate 

with therapists and 

officers to develop 

questions

The best treatment 

outcomes are noted 

when indicators of 

deception lead to 

investigation and 

treatment, rather 

than to immediate 

parole revocation 
| 38 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Location-Oriented Responses

13 30 Limiting 

intoxication in 

public places

It decreases the 

propensity of 

some men to 

become aggressive; 

it decreases the 

tendency of 

potential victims 

to become less 

aware of their 

surroundings or to 

take other risks

...bar and nightclub 

owners practice 

responsible beverage 

service

Not all victims 

and offenders are 

intoxicated when 

an attack occurs, 

so this response 

has the potential to 

affect only a subset 

of potential sexual 

assaults 

14 31 Improving 

lighting

It increases 

offenders’ risk of 

detection

...the high-risk locations 

for sexual assault have 

been properly identified 

Improved lighting 

may displace 

potential offenders 

to areas with 

limited surveillance 

opportunities; 

installing and 

maintaining lighting 

may be expensive

15 31 Removing hiding 

spots

It increases 

offenders’ risk 

of detection; it 

decreases the 

places available for 

offenders to wait 

for suitable victims

...the high-risk locations 

for sexual assault have 

been properly identified 

Reducing hiding 

spots will deter only 

those offenders 

who rely on cover 

to surprise their 

victims; it won’t 

affect offenders who 

openly approach 

their victims and 

verbally persuade 

them to move to a 

more isolated area 
| 39 |

Appendix 

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

16 31 Reforming 

legislation

It makes it easier to 

convict offenders 

once police 

apprehend them

Research has shown 

that efforts to 

reform the criminal 

code have had very 

minimal effects 

on the number of 

arrests, indictments, 

and prosecutions of 

sexual assaults by 

strangers 

| 41 |

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Endnotes

Endnotes

1. Groth (1979); Savino and Turvey (2005).

2. Maston (2011).

3. Tjaden and Thoennes (2006); Kilpatrick and McCauley (2009).

4. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2009).

5. Tjaden and Thoennes (2006); Kilpatrick and McCauley (2009).

6. Tjaden and Thoennes (2006). 

7. Myhill and Allen (2002).

8. Epstein and Langenbahn (1994); DuMont, Miller, and Myhr (2003); Jones et al. 

(2009).

9. Bachman (1998); Ruch, Coyne, and Perrone (2000); DuMont, Miller, and Myhr 

(2003); Clay-Warner and Burt (2005).

10. Feldman-Summers and Ashworth (1981); Ruch, Coyne, and Perrone (2000); Jones et 

al. (2009).

11. Caringella (2009).

12. Maier (2008).

13. Lessel and Kapila (2001).

14. Jordan (2001); Lessel and Kapila (2001); Maier (2008).

15. Bohner et al. (2009).

16. Turvey (2005).

17. Turvey (2005). 

18. McDowell (1985); Kanin (1994).

19. Turvey (2005).

20. West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (n.d.); New York City 

Alliance Against Sexual Assault (n.d.). 

21. National Center for Victims of Crime (2009).

22. Allison and Wrightsman (1993). 

23. Allison and Wrightsman (1993).

24. Monahan, Marolla, and Bromley (2005).

25. Allison and Wrightsman (1993); Ullman (2007).
| 48 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

26. Ullman (2007).

27. Tjaden and Thoennes (2006).

28. Myhill and Allen (2002); Lalumiere et al. (2005).

29. Lalumiere et al. (2005); Soothill et al. (2002).

30. Savino and Turvey (2005); Lalumiere et al. (2005).

31. Rozee and Koss (2001); Abbey et al. (2007).

32. Davies, Wittebrood and Jackson (1998); Soothill et al. (2002); Goldstein and Susmilch 

(1982).

33. MacLellan and Cain (2008).

34. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2009).

35. Myhill and Allen (2002).

36. Davies and Dale (1995).

37. Horvath and Brown (2006); Ullman (2007).

38. Horvath and Brown (2006); Ullman (2007).

39. Horvath and Brown (2007); Kilpatrick et al. (2007).

40. Epstein and Langenbahn (1994).

41. Center for Sex Offender Management (2008c).

42. Wilson (2002); Martin (2005); Lovett, Regan, and Kelly (2004).

43. Epstein and Langenbahn (1994).

44. Vito, Longmire, and Kenney (1983).

45. Wilson (2002); Savino and Turvey (2005); Lovett, Regan, and Kelly (2004).

46. Martin (2005).

47. Martin (2005).

48. Winkel and Koppelaar (1992); McMillan and Thomas (2009); West Virginia 

Foundation for Rape Information and Services (n.d.).

49. Winkel et al. (1991).

50. Winkel et al. (1991).

51. Lonsway, Welch and Fitzgerald (2001).

52. Kinney et al. (2007).
| 49 |

Endnotes

53. Ullman (2007).

54. Furby, Fischhoff, and Morgan (1989); Allison and Wrightsman (1993); Searles and 

Berger (1995); Rozee and Koss (2001); Ullman (2007); Guerette and Santana (2010).

55. Rozee and Koss (2001).

56. Ullman (2007).

57. Furby, Fischhoff, and Morgan (1990).

58. Ullman (2007). 

59. Allison and Wrightsman (1993); Groves (1995).

60. Davies and Dale (1995).

61. Banyard, Plante, and Moynihan (2004).

62. Goldstein and Susmilch (1982).

63. MacLellan and Cain (2008); Center for Sex Offender Management (2008c).

64. Center for Sex Offender Management (2008c).

65. Center for Sex Offender Management (2008b).

66. Center for Sex Offender Management (2008a); Center for Sex Offender Management 

(2008c).

67. MacLellan and Cain (2008); International Association of Chiefs of Police and U.S. 

Bureau of Justice Assistance (2007); Minnesota Department of Corrections (2006).

68. Campbell and Wasco (2005); Ullman (2007).

69. English (1998); Rozee and Koss (2001); Abbey et al. (2007).

70. English (1998).

71. English (1998).

72. English (1998); MacLellan and Cain (2008). 

73. Horvath and Brown (2006); Ullman (2007).

74. Caringella (2009). 

75. Seidman and Vickers (2005); Caringella (2009).

76. Berger, Neuman, and Searles (1994); Bachman (1998); Clay-Warner and Burt (2005); 

Seidman and Vickers (2005); Caringella (2009).
| 50 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

About the Author

Kelly Dedel

Kelly Dedel is the director of One in 37 Research Inc., a criminal justice consulting 

firm based in Portland, Oregon. As a consultant to federal, state, and local agencies, 

she is primarily interested in improving confinement conditions in juvenile detention 

and corrections centers and validating risk assessment and offender classification 

instruments. She has also provided evaluation-related technical assistance to more than 

60 jurisdictions nationwide for the Bureau of Justice Assistance. In this capacity, she 

has worked with a broad range of criminal justice programs implemented by police, 

prosecutors, public defenders, juvenile detention and correction centers, local jails, 

community corrections centers, and prisons. Before working as a consultant, she was a 

founder and senior research scientist at The Institute on Crime, Justice, and Corrections 

at The George Washington University, and a senior research associate at the National 

Council on Crime and Delinquency. Dedel received a bachelor’s degree in psychology 

and criminal justice from the University of Richmond, and a doctorate in clinical 

psychology from the Center for Psychological Studies in Berkeley, California. While 

working on her doctorate, she counseled survivors of sexual assault at Bay Area Women 

Against Rape in Oakland, California. 
| 51 |

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides Series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott and Kelly Dedel. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

2. Street Prostitution, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott and Kelly Dedel. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-01-0

3. Speeding in Residential Areas, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott with David K. 

Maddox. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-02-7

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes. Rana Sampson. 2001. 

ISBN: 1-932582-03-7

5. False Burglar Alarms, 2nd Edition. Rana Sampson. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-04-5

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-05-3

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-06-1

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-07-X

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-08-8

10. Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. 

ISBN: 1-932582-09-6

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-10-X

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-11-8

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-12-6

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-13-4

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-14-2

16. Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs, 2nd Edition. Michael S. Scott and Kelly 

Dedel. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-15-0

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-16-9

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-17-7

19. Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-18-5

20. Financial Crimes Against the Elderly. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-22-3

21. Check and Card Fraud. Graeme R. Newman. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-27-4

22. Stalking. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-30-4

23. Gun Violence Among Serious Young Offenders. Anthony A. Braga. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-31-2

24. Prescription Fraud. Julie Wartell and Nancy G. La Vigne. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-33-9 

25. Identity Theft. Graeme R. Newman. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-35-3

26. Crimes Against Tourists. Ronald W. Glesnor and Kenneth J. Peak. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-36-3

27. Underage Drinking. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-39-8
| 52 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

28. Street Racing. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-42-8

29. Cruising. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-43-6

30. Disorder at Budget Motels. Karin Schmerler. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

31. Drug Dealing in Open-Air Markets. Alex Harocopos and Mike Hough. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-45-2

32. Bomb Threats in Schools. Graeme R. Newman. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-46-0

33. Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-47-9

34. Robbery of Taxi Drivers. Martha J. Smith. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-50-9

35. School Vandalism and Break-Ins. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. ISBN: 1-9325802-51-7

36. Drunk Driving. Michael S. Scott, Nina J. Emerson, Louis B. Antonacci, and Joel B. 

Plant. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-57-6

37. Juvenile Runaways. Kelly Dedel. 2006. ISBN: 1932582-56-8

38. The Exploitation of Trafficked Women. Graeme R. Newman. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-59-2

39. Student Party Riots. Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-60-6

40. People with Mental Illness. Gary Cordner. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-63-0

41. Child Pornography on the Internet. Richard Wortley and Stephen Smallbone. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-65-7

42. Witness Intimidation. Kelly Dedel. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-67-3

43. Burglary at Single-Family House Construction Sites. Rachel Boba and Roberto 

Santos. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

44. Disorder at Day Laborer Sites. Rob Guerette. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-72-X

45. Domestic Violence. Rana Sampson. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-74-6

46. Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways. Todd Keister. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-76-2

47. Drive-By Shootings. Kelly Dedel. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-77-0

48. Bank Robbery. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-78-9

49. Robbery of Convenience Stores. Alicia Altizio and Diana York. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-79-7

50. Traffic Congestion Around Schools. Nancy G. La Vigne. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-82-7

51. Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities. Justin A. Heinonen and John E. Eck. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-83-5

52. Bicycle Theft. Shane D. Johnson, Aiden Sidebottom, and Adam Thorpe. 2008. 

ISBN: 1-932582-87-8

53. Abandoned Vehicles. Michael G. Maxfield. 2008. ISBN: 1-932582-88-6
| 53 |

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

54. Spectator Violence in Stadiums. Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck. 2008. 

ISBN: 1-932582-89-4

55. Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home. Kelly Dedel. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-00-3

56. Homeless Encampments. Sharon Chamard. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-01-0

57. Stolen Goods Markets. Michael Sutton. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-09-6

58. Theft of Scrap Metal. Brandon R. Kooi. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-12-6

59. Street Robbery. Khadija M. Monk, Justin A. Heinonen, and John E. Eck. 2010. 

ISBN: 978-1-935676-13-3

60. Theft of Customers’ Personal Property in Cafés and Bars. Shane D. Johnson, Kate 

J. Bowers, Lorraine Gamman, Loreen Mamerow and Anna Warne. 2010. 

ISBN: 978-1-935676-15-7

61. Aggressive Driving. Colleen Laing. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-935676-18-8

62. Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers. Kelly Dedel. 2011. ISBN: 978-1-935676-43-0

Response Guides Series:

1. The Benefits and Consequences of Police Crackdowns. Michael S. Scott. 2003.

ISBN: 1-932582-24-X

2. Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should You Go Down This Road?

Ronald V. Clarke. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

3. Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety Problems. Michael S. Scott 

and Herman Goldstein. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-55-X

4. Video Surveillance of Public Places. Jerry Ratcliffe. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-58-4

5. Crime Prevention Publicity Campaigns. Emmanuel Barthe. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-66-5

6. Sting Operations. Graeme R. Newman with assistance of Kelly Socia. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-84-3

7. Asset Forfeiture. John L. Worall. 2008. ISBN: 1-932582-90-8 

8. Improving Street Lighting to Reduce Crime in Residential Areas. Ronald V. Clarke. 

2008. ISBN: 1-932582-91-6

9. Dealing With Crime and Disorder in Urban Parks. Jim Hilborn. 2009. 

ISBN: 1-932582-92-4

10. Assigning Police Officers to Schools. Barbara Raymond. 2010. 

ISBN: 978-1-935676-14-0
| 54 |

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers

Problem-Solving Tools Series: 

1. Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police ProblemSolvers. John E. Eck. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-19-3

2. Researching a Problem. Ronald V. Clarke and Phyllis A. Schultz. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-48-7

3. Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem-Solving. Scott H. Decker. 

2005. ISBN: 1-932582-49-5

4. Analyzing Repeat Victimization. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-54-1

5. Partnering with Businesses to Address Public Safety Problems. Sharon Chamard. 

2006. ISBN: 1-932582-62-2

6. Understanding Risky Facilities. Ronald V. Clarke and John E. Eck. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-75-4

7. Implementing Responses to Problems. Rick Brown and Michael S. Scott. 2007. 

ISBN: 1-932582-80-0

8. Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Problem-Solving.

Diane Zahm. 2007. ISBN: 1-932582-81-9

9. Enhancing the Problem-Solving Capacity of Crime Analysis Units. Matthew B. 

White. 2008. ISBN: 1-932582-85-1

10. Analyzing Crime Displacement and Diffusion. Rob T. Guerette. 2009. 

ISBN: 1-932582-93-2

Special Publications:

Crime Analysis for Problem Solvers in 60 Small Steps. Ronald V. Clarke and John 

E. Eck, 2005. ISBN:1-932582-52-5

Policing Terrorism: An Executive’s Guide. Graeme R. Newman and Ronald V. 

Clarke. 2008.

Effective Policing and Crime Prevention: A Problem-Oriented Guide for Mayors, 

City Managers, and County Executives. Joel B. Plant and Michael S. Scott. 2009. 
| 55 |

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Upcoming Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides

Abandoned Buildings and Lots

Animal Abuse

Chronic Public Inebriation

Drug-Impaired Driving

Gasoline Drive-Offs

Home Invasion Robbery

Missing Persons

Prescription Fraud and Abuse, 2nd Edition

Shoplifting, 2nd Edition

Theft of Vehicles for Export Across Land Borders

Understanding Hot Products

Problem-Solving Tools

Understanding Repeat Offending

Response Guides

Monitoring Offenders on Conditional Release

Using Civil Actions Against Property to Control Crime Problems

Special Publications

Intelligence Analysis and Problem-Solving

Problem-Oriented Policing Implementation Manual

For a complete and up-to-date listing of all available POP Guides, see the Center for 

Problem-Oriented Policing website at www.popcenter.org.

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series and other 

COPS Office publications, call the COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770, 

via e-mail at askCOPSRC@usdoj.gov, or visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Got a Problem? We’ve got answers!

Log onto the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing website at 

www.popcenter.org for a wealth of information to help you deal 

more effectively with crime and disorder in your community, 

including:

•	 Recommended readings in problem-oriented policing 

and situational crime prevention

•	 A complete listing of other POP Guides

•	 A listing of forthcoming POP Guides

Designed for police and those who work with them to address 

community problems, www.popcenter.org is a great resource for 

problem-oriented policing.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office).

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
U.S. Department of Justi

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

145 N Street, N.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, 

call the COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.67

Visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov

Sexual Assault of Women by Strangers provides police with an overview of the 

problem of sexual assault of women by strangers and the factors that increase its 

risks. The guide also lists a series of questions to help you analyze your local sexual

assault problem and reviews responses to the problem and what is known about 

them from evaluative research and police practice

August 2011

ISBN: 978-1-935676-43-0

e081115390