Police Response to Rape Allegations - Essay Example

Sexual Offences and Offending Police Response to Rape Allegations Introduction According to an article by Firth (1975), a detective wrote that women and children complaints in sexual matters are notorious for embroidery or complete fabrication of complaints. This statement is a summary of the dominant or prevailing attitude towards rape complaints. There is a prevalent attitude of disbelief in the police that is reflected in the wider societal suspicion towards women alleging rape. This makes it difficult for the victims to approach the police, let alone placing their trust in them. However, the society has embraced changes regarding gender violence and sexual offences. According to Lees (2000), law reform initiatives have expanded the definitions of rape, advocacy groups have become more widespread and established, and police officers have been exposed to better training and education programmes. However, it remains less clear how these changes have been accompanied by a significant shift in police officers’ attitudes towards rape complainants. This paper seeks to examine the response of police officers to rape allegations, the manner in which police investigate these allegations, and the challenges faced by the police when dealing with these allegations. Police Response to Rape Allegations According to Epstein and Langebahn (1994), offences if sexual violation and rape have notoriously low reporting rates. Few victims are willing to approach the police on their own accord. At the same time, of the cases that are reported, few of them proceed to the point of prosecution. While several studies have been conducted on rape cases which resulted in prosecution, little research has been conducted on complainant’s experiences of reporting rape to the police. This is despite the significant reforms to law and procedures taking effect in the mid 1980s. One of the first countries to attempt key reforms in its rape laws was New Zealand. It introduced an expanded and gender-neutral definition of rape in 1986. It also abolished married men’s right to spousal immunity from prosecution for rape. Similar reforms have been undertaken in England, the United States, and Australia. Jordan (2001) draws from a research conducted in the 1990s to determine the level to which women’s experiences of reporting rape to the police had improved since the reforms in New Zealand were initiated. In the study, 48 women were interviewed, with extensive information obtained regarding reporting and statement-taking, the medical examination, and support agency contacts. Throughout the study, there was a recurring issue. This is whether or not a woman reporting a rape would be believed by the police, and how the disbelief affected her. About 18 women considered belief had been an issue at some stage during the process of reporting. They felt that the police regarded their complaint with skepticism and spoke of feeling as if it was up to them to persuade the police that their allegations were genuine before an investigation would proceed. Some of the women felt that the police did not believe them right from the start, and the police would keep trying to catch them out to see if they were lying. Therefore, from the above study, the factors associated with whether or not the women are likely to be believed are not always clear cut. While some believe that officers’ responses are influenced by rape myths regarding good and bad victims, others feel that the police often judge them according to such moral beliefs proved to be unfounded, (Kelly, 2002). Therefore, the issue that arises when it comes to police response to rape allegations is the issue of belief. In essence, does the police officer believe the complainant? This raises the aspect of the victim’s credibility. Police responses to rape allegations are profoundly influenced by credibility concerns regarding the victim. They might be true or false rape allegations. The problem lies in detecting when there are genuine complaints being made. Usually, various factors will raise doubts regarding a complainant’s credibility. The first factor is delayed reporting. Often, the police will view a delay in reporting sexual assault offences as abnormal. According to Temkin (1999), it is a factor that reduces the credibility of the victim. It is less likely that less forensic and physical evidence is available, and therefore the police hold the belief that victims will have more time in constructing a fabricated account of events. in such a case, the officer’s response to the allegations will be rather a suspicious one. The officer might have the perception that the victim is lying and this can delay any possible actions that can be taken in addressing the complaint. The second factor is injuries. Serious physical and visible injuries will always be viewed by the police as proof that rape occurred. Injury is viewed as a corroborative factor. This is despite the fact that many rape victims are not able to physically resist an attacker. In cases such as marital rape, there is the rarest chance of infliction of injury. Therefore, the police end up being negligent on cases where the victim has no injuries. This affects their response to rape allegations. Another factor affecting police response to rape allegations is demeanor. This results from myths about rape and rape victims (Torrey, 1996). Many police officers hold the belief that a rape victim should look or act in a certain way. These beliefs usually end up impacting on police judgments of complainants. This is because the reactions of victims may not be consistent with other people’s expectations. While some might be angry after a rape offence, others might withdraw or close down. Demeanor misleads the response of police when it comes to establishing the credibility of the complainant. There are a lot of other factors that usually affect the response of police to rape allegations. These include marriage, previous consensual sex with the alleged offender, perceived immorality of the complainant, previous rape complaint, diminished competency in victims (McCarthy, 1996), withdrawal or retraction of the complaint, and concealment. For example, police are less likely to believe a marital rape allegation, (Nixon, 1999). The perception is that rape cannot happen in marriage. The same case applies when there has been prior consensual sexual contact with the person being reported. Such issues always affect the response of police to rape allegations. If a complainant withdraws of retracts from a rape allegation, the interpretation is that the allegation was fabricated. Therefore, if such a person was to report a rape incidence another time, it will be difficult for the police to believe it. The issues of belief and credibility therefore pose challenges for police officers who investigate rape cases. However, before addressing these challenges, it is significant to examine how the police investigate rape allegations. How the Police Investigate Rape Allegations The receipt of a rape report marks the beginning of the investigation. Therefore, much detail as possible needs to be recorded at this stage. According to Lafree (1998), the officers who take the reports usually ask open-ended questions and record them along with the answers provided by the victim. The questions asked need to be relevant in assessing the immediate safety of the victim, and/or individual making the report. Often, officers or report takers obtain and record the following information; the location and identity of the individual making the report; the exact location and time of the incident; whether the individual making the report is the victim, third party or witness, and the capacity in which they are making the report; nature of the incident; location and identity of victim if known; location and identity of suspect if known; and several other details that might be of assistance during the investigation, (NPIA, 2010). Therefore, this first step involves the reporting of the offence. It also involves risk identification. This entails identifying the risk factors relating to the behavior and circumstances of the suspect. For example, is the victim in danger? Can the suspect commit a similar offence? Does the suspect have access to the victim? What is the victim’s perception about the risk of future harm? After risk identification, the next step involves investigative development and case building. This is where the officers seek evidence in order to build a case for prosecution. The next step is charging, bail and case preparation, whereby the suspect is apprehended and charged with a rape offence. During the process of investigation, officers are faced with a number of challenges. Challenges Facing Officers Investigating Rape Allegations According to Chambers and Millar (2002), the main challenge that affects officers who investigate rape allegations is determining whether the allegations are real or false. Police have had to deal with a fair share of false rape allegations. This brings up the issue of unfounded rape. For example, if there was consensual sexual contact between two partners, and then suddenly one partner reports a rape incident, how are the officers supposed to handle such a case? It might be a way for the victim to extort the suspect. This always creates a problem for officers when handling such cases. For example, Strauss Kahn had labeled the rape allegations against him as a way of extortion or defamation. In addition to this, police officers often have to deal with issues that seem to suggest false allegations. Such factors include late reporting, lack of corroborating evidence, lack of cooperation by the victim and witness, reporting in the wrong jurisdiction, discrepancies in the victim’s story, concealment, wrong address given by the victim, victim’s drunkenness and substance abuse, victim being though a prostitute, victim’s uncertainty of events, and victim’s belligerence, (Reiner, 2004). These are some of the factors that pose challenges to the officers who investigate rape offences in determining whether an offence is real or false. Conclusion The paper has examined the issues of police response, how police investigate rape allegations, and the challenges that they face. The prevalent factor that is at the heart of police response to rape allegations is the police-complainant relationship. For the police, these factors include evidential concerns, practical realities, and legal considerations, all of which produce a suspicious, evidence and offender-oriented mindset. In addition to this police-complainant relationship, there are other factors that surround this relationship. These include police organisation and the dominant beliefs of occupational culture. Therefore, while law and policies may verbally acknowledge the seriousness of rape, police practices and procedure continue to hinder response to rape allegations. References Epstein, Joel and Langenbahn, Stacia (1994). The Criminal Justice and Community Response to Rape. Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice series, National Institute of Justice. Washington: US Department of Justice. Firth, Alan (1975). “Interrogation.” Police Review, 28 November: 1507. Jordan, Jan (2001). “ Worlds Apart? Women, Rape and the Police Reporting Process.” British Journal of Criminology, 41 (4): 679-706. Kelly, Liz (2002). A Research Review on the Reporting, Investigation and Prosecution of Rape Cases. London: Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. Temkin, Jennifer (1999). “Reporting rape in London: A qualitative study.” Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 38 (1): 17-41. Torrey, Morrison (1996). “When will we be believed? Rape myths and the idea of a fair trial in rape prosecutions.” University of California, Davis, Law Review, 24 (4): 1013-1071. Reiner, Robert (2004). “Policing and the police”. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan and R. Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Nixon, Christine (1999). “A climate of change: Police responses to rape.” In Jan Breckenridge and Moira Carmody (eds.), Crimes of Violence: Australian Responses to Rape and Child Sexual Assault. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. McCarthy, Michelle (1996). “Sexual experiences and sexual abuse of women with learning disabilities.” In Marianne Hester, Liz Kelly and Jill Radford (eds.), Women, Violence and Male Power: Feminist Activism, Research and Practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. LaFree, Gary (1998). “Official reactions to social problems: Police decisions in sexual assault cases.” Social Problems, 28 (5): 582-594. Lees, Sue (2000). Ruling Passions: Sexual Aggression, Reputation and The Law. Buckingham: Open University Press. Chambers, Gerry and Millar, Ann (2002). Investigating Sexual Assault. Edinburgh: Scottish Office Central Research Unit. National Policing Improvement Agency. ‘Guidance on Investigating and Prosecuting Rape’ (2010) Abridged Edition, 1-146. Read More