Should Police Officers Reevaluate Their Training And Processes

1400 Words6 Pages

Many crimes plague the world, and with them come countless regulations and consequences. But one crime is widely different from the rest, in more ways than one. It is rape and can often be thought of as a paradox because victims are blamed for their assault. Rape is one of the most unreported crimes nationwide, and there are two main reasons for this, self-blaming by the victim and the fear that others will blame them. Unlike any other crime, rape comes with many stereotypes, biases, and gender prejudice. This crime is normalized and excused in society by rape culture, and rape culture also ripples into the criminal justice system. Since police officers are the first people in contact with rape victims within law enforcement after their assault, …show more content…

Police interviews are crucial in gaining evidence for rape crimes, yet little is known about how these interviews are managed. According to a survey investigating how police officers follow ‘best guidance’ to obtain victims understanding of ‘truth and lies’, police officers initiated the conversation of ‘truths and lies’ inappropriately (Richardson et al. 773). There were three ways how this conversation was initiated inappropriately: “by eliciting confirmations rather than demonstrations of understanding; by eliciting multiple demonstrations and confirmations of understanding, by re-introducing ‘truth and lies’ conversations at incorrect points in the interview” (Richardson et al. 773). Both bringing forth conformations rather than demonstrations, and re-introducing ‘truth and lies’ conversation at incorrect points imply that the victim has been or might be dishonest (Richardson et al. 773). Improved training and processes designed explicitly for rape victims should be established; this would ameliorate interviewing standards and the mental state of rape