NCJ Number
113667
Date Published
1986
Length
86 pages
Annotation
This dissertation evaluates police progress in adopting rape investigation procedures that promote greater sympathy and understanding for the victim, as well as the impact of such procedural changes on crime reporting.
Abstract
Based on interviews with police officers and a police surgeon in the Hampshire and Thames Valley Constabularies (England), the paper assesses police practices in the two constabularies and the response to the 1973 Home Office Circular which offered guidelines for rape and sexual assault investigations. A critique of police methods focuses on the problems of underreporting, occupational values of the police, the theme of social control, and the notion of patriarchy. Support agencies such as rape crisis centers and victim services are discussed. The survey concluded that few police forces have thoroughly re-examined officers' attitudes and their effect on rape investigations. While most senior officers appeared to appreciate the need for tact and sensitivity, the research revealed a problem of attitudes in the lower ranks; a cult of masculinity that seriously hinders any progressive sexual assault training scheme. Police officers were not familiar with recent research on rape and held high perceptions of false complaints. Attitudes at the Police Training Center were particularly patronizing to women, suggesting they would be better off at home. Tables, footnotes, and 69 references.