Prosecutors’ experiences investigating alleged sexual abuse against pre-schoolers

Figures & data

Table 1. Number of Cases Managed and Training Completed by the Prosecutors.

	Number of cases managed
	1–5	6–10	11–20	21–40	41–80	>80
Child cases total	-	-	11%	6%	23%	60%
CSA cases involving a pre-schooler	17%	21%	17%	19%	14%	12%
	Training in working with child cases
	Yes					No
Child abuse: Introductory course	64%			46%
Child Abuse: Intermediary Course	40%			60%

Table 2. Prosecutors’ Ratings of Collaboration with Police and CPS.

Quality of collaboration	Organization
	Police (n = 94)	CPS (n = 81)^a
Very poor	-	-
Poor	1 (1%)	7 (9%)
Neither good nor poor	8 (9%)	36 (44%)
Good	55 (58%)	34 (42%)
Very good	30 (32%)	4 (5%)

Note. ^aNumber of prosecutors who stated they had experience collaborating with CPS in CSA investigations.

Table 3. Prosecutors’ Ratings of the Quality of Police Investigative Interviews with Children and CPS Investigations.

Quality	Organization
	Police investigative interviews (n = 94)	CPS investigations (n = 88)*
Very low	-	-
Low	-	11 (13%)
Neither high nor low	20 (22%)	61 (69%)
High	67 (70%)	15 (17%)
Very high	7 (8%)	1 (1%)

*Number of prosecutors who stated they had experience examining CPS investigations.

Table 4. Themes and Sub-themes Concerning Challenges Investigating Cases of Alleged CSA Involving Preschoolers.

Theme	Sub-theme	n
Pre-schoolers’ testimony
	Developmental limitations	37 (42%)
	Difficulties to disclose	12 (14%)
Difficult situations
	Complicated family situations	8 (8%)
	Insufficient resources	4 (5%)
High legal standards
	Evidential requirements	48 (55%)
	Requirements on children’s testimony	19 (22%)

Table 5. Themes and Sub-themes Concerning Experiences Collaborating with the Police and the Quality of the Child Interviews.

Theme	Sub-theme	n
Competent interviewers
	The importance of experience	6 (15%)
	The importance of personal skills	5 (13%)
	Paramount to the investigation	5 (13%)
Organizational limitations
	A lack of resources	7 (18%)
	Employee turnover	7 (18%)

Table 6. Themes and Sub-themes Concerning Experiences Collaborating with the Police and the Quality of the Child Interviews.

Theme	Sub-theme	n
Struggling to do well
	Individual differences	9 (23%)
	A lack of resources	12 (30%)
Culture clash
	Effect of CPS actions	6 (15%)
	Different views	7 (18%)