Through the Looking Glass: Exploring How College Students' Perceptions of the Police Influence Sexual Assault Victimization Reporting.

Despite increased attention, education, and prevention programs, sexual assault of college students and underreporting of this victimization remain a pervasive problem. Previous research has examined factors influencing the reporting of crimes by the public to the police, the extent of sexual victimization on college campuses, sexual assault victimization reporting and/or disclosure (for both university victims and non-university victims), and perceptions of police by university students. However, there remains a dearth of research examining whether students' perceptions of police influence their decision to report victimization, in particular sexual assault victimization. The present study examined whether students' perceptions of police influence their decision to report victimization. Using data obtained from a survey of students attending a public university in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the current study examines factors that impact victimization reporting and whether perceptions of police influence victims' decision to report or not. The results of the analyses indicated that victimization reporting and satisfaction with the police were impacted by gender, and support was found for the proposition that perceptions of the police influence the likelihood to report victimization.