The highest sentiment analysis scored reports indicate that police reports written with more positive and subjective statements concerning details of the case and the victim often Proceeded to Prosecution. These higher sentiment score cases most often involve male perpetrators who are well-known to the victim (e.g., dad, husband, boyfriend, bus driver). Word counts are near the average (~400 words), and additional (often seemingly unnecessary) details about the victim are not included (e.g., neurodiversity status “victim has ADHD and is off their medication”).

The median sentiment analysis scored reports indicate that these police reports are written with a more neutral, factual tone in terms of opinion and objectivity. The word cloud for the six median sentiment-scored reports reveals that these ‘neutral’ reports often involve Black, juvenile victims who are described as being uncooperative, unruly, and/or as runaways. These reports most often involve perpetrators who are adjacent to the victim (e.g., a family friend, employer’s boyfriend, school mates). While the scores indicate neutrality, many of these cases Did not Proceed to Prosecution, the named suspects were canceled, and no papers were ultimately issued.

The lowest sentiment analysis scored reports indicate that these reports are more objective, less opinionated, and more negative. These six reports frequently mention unruly juvenile victims and those with mental health issues and tend to include sentences that discuss a lack of evidence (e.g., “no signs of physical trauma,” “no signs of assault”) and what the victim was not able to do (e.g., “victim was unable,” “victim could not remember”) and actual psychological diagnoses of the victims. Additionally, these reports involve perpetrators who are more distantly connected to the victims (e.g., acquaintances or completely unknown), and the cases ended with no papers being issued or unfounded complaints.