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Rape is one of the most traumatic events a woman could ever encounter and it’s a long, difficult climb out of a very deep cavern for any woman who’s been subjected to such a crime. The first step of this journey depends a lot on the first person she tells her story to — a beat cop — which more often than not is a man. Many cops (male and female) dread these calls, but I’ve made it my personal quest to be the best at handling the initial investigation. After all, she needs to know I’m on her side.

Rapport & Trust

From the moment you arrive on scene, it’s important to establish a good rapport with the victim to help with the flow of information and to start the process of getting her on the road to recovery. Before contacting your victim, write down her name and all the notes provided in the dispatched call. Gaining her trust is paramount to how much suspect information and details of the crime you’ll get, which will help in the arrest and conviction of the suspect. Officers — particularly male officers — try to avoid these cases because they require practice and patience from the outset.

Rape is not about the sex; it’s a crime of violence and control. The victim’s very first impressions of you are critical and will determine your ability to gain her trust. Even the simple niceties of the introduction should be careful and measured. For instance, upon introducing myself to the victim, I don’t extend my hand automatically. I let her decide if she wants to shake my hand — she may not want anyone touching her. If I’ve responded to her home, I don’t assume it’s okay to sit down while taking her initial statement, I ask if she would be comfortable with me sitting.

No matter where I’m taking the report, if others are present it’s important to know who they are and how they relate to the victim. I wouldn’t want to disclose information about the suspect to a friend or relative of said suspect. Before I get going on the report, I ask the victim if and whom she’d like to have present during my investigation. It may seem like I’m asking for her permission in seemingly insignificant areas, but I’m actually guiding her toward regaining control in her life. This guidance is a building block of the trusting partnership we must form for the case to have a successful conclusion.

It takes time to build trust and you must be willing to devote it to a rape investigation. Trying to rush through an interview and hurry along a medical exam will be of no help to her, you or the case as a whole. It’s hard for people with little or no life experience to understand the concept of taking their time. Indeed, it’s a difficult concept for many sergeants too, as I often hear a casual inquiry, “How much longer will that unit be tied up on that call?”— which is code for: You need to hurry up and clear. What’s the rush?

Medical Issues

Whatever your agency calls it, a medical examination for evidence will be in order. It’s important you know exactly what the process is so you can tell the victim what to expect. Remember, she’s just had the ultimate violation to her body occur, she’s not going to be all that excited about an invasive medical procedure. Not only should you know what the process is, but why certain things are done. She might understand the need for pictures of her body — to document injuries — but may not be comfortable having photographs taken of her genital area. She’ll likely have injuries there too, so she needs to be prepared for such evidence collection.

Obviously, the exam will be performed at a hospital, and how the victim gets there is important. If it’s necessary to transport her to the hospital she can either go with a friend or family member. If you take her, ensure she rides in the front seat — don’t further the insult by making her sit in the back. Oh, and make sure she brings another set of clothes with her, she’ll need them as you’ll most likely need to impound the ones she’s wearing.

Stay at the hospital in close proximity to where the exam is being given. Don’t leave to write the paper in your car or otherwise wander away. The medical staff or the victim may need you for questions or support. You can work on the report in another room or in the hall, but stick around. If the hospital doesn’t have a counselor on hand who specializes in these kinds of crimes, make sure you arrange for one your agency may work with to meet you. We work with counselors from the women’s advocate organization WEAVE (Women Escaping A Violent Environment). Just like agencies you’d refer a victim of domestic violence to, many women’s advocacy groups have the people with the skills to help her on the road to recovery.

More To It

Cops won’t so much as murmur about having to book into evidence, bags of dope (which require weighing and other special handling), but I’ve seen these same officers roll their eyes and lament about what a hassle it is to impound such things as semen-soaked sheets. Perhaps it’s because of their general discomfort with the crime and the victim.

Other items you need to make sure you look for and impound might include towels or other bathroom linens (did the suspect or victim shower?), tissues or toilet paper in a trash can or on the floor, glassware or other eating utensils (think date rape). If you’re fortunate enough to work on a larger agency, you may have officers trained as field evidence techs, or maybe you have lab techs who can handle evidence collection for you. But for so many of you in small-town America, the responsibility of collecting evidence falls on your shoulders — make sure you handle the collection properly.

Any item collected that might be moist should never be placed in a plastic bag; it’ll allow mold to grow, which can degrade/ruin “organic” evidence. Impound moist items in paper bags, preferably after you’ve allowed them to dry out as much as possible. Make sure you’ve photographed the scene well and make detailed notes of where each piece of evidence was found. All the rules for processing the scene are in play and if you’re not sure if you’ve done everything, ask a senior officer or a sergeant. They’re there to use as a resource.

Trials & Hearings

If you’ve done a good job of establishing a good rapport with the victim and gained her trust don’t be surprised should she come to rely on you during court. Your continued support could be the very thing that helps her make it through having to relive the trauma of her experience — and having to confront her attacker — in front of a room full of strangers.

I met a woman at a seminar for police and rape victim counselors. During the course I learned she’d been raped several months earlier, but hadn’t reported the incident because of the horror stories she’d heard during a counseling session about the way police had treated them. I was able to build a rapport and gain her trust and only then did she finally report the incident — to me.

The suspect, a parolee, was eventually caught and this woman was faced with having to testify at his Morrissey hearing. I also attended the hearing, but wasn’t allowed in the room during her testimony. Had I not successfully established a good rapport with her or gained her trust, the rape would never have been reported — and the suspect may have victimized someone else.

Ultimately, because of the time I invested in taking her report and her testimony, the suspect’s parole was revoked and he was sent back to prison.

I’ve been fortunate to meet some very brave women who are real fighters and I had a hand in helping them out of the deep hole of rape. A rape is not an easy crime to work, but it’s one where it’s okay for you to show a kinder, gentler side of yourself. Take the time to understand and help the victim — it’s a burden she’ll be dealing with for the rest of her life.

Rape or sexual assault victimizations against
females with police response, by type of response

Total 1994-1998 1999-2004 2005-2010
Not Reported  71%  59%  64%
Reported 29% 41% 36%
Police came when notified?*
Yes 75% 84% 84%
No 19% 13% 14%
Unknown/Other 6%** 4%** 2%**

*Excludes about 10% of victimizations in which the victim went directly to police and between 1% to 4% in which the police were already on the scene or learned about the victimization in some other way.

**Interpret with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Initial police response to rape and sexual
assault victimization against females

1994-1998 1999-2004 2005-2010
Made arrest at the scene 20% 12% 9%
Promise to investigate and or promised survelliance 20% 38% 13%
Questioned witnessess and/or searched 44% 47% 8%
Took evidence 8% 10% 19%
Took report 82% 72% 86%
Other 21% 17% 19%

Courtesy of: US DOJ, Bureau of Statistics special report, “Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010” published March 2013.

US DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

• In 2005-2010, females who were age 34 or younger, who lived in lower income households and
who lived in rural areas experienced some of the highest rates of sexual violence.

• Between 2005-2010, 78% of sexual violence involved an offender who was a family member,
intimate partner, friend or acquaintance.

• Between 2005-2010, the offender was armed with a gun, knife or other weapon in 11% of the attacks.

• Between 2005-2010, only about 23% of the victims received help or advice from a victim service agency.
Courtesy of: US DOJ, Bureau of Statistics special report, “Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010” published March 2013.

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