Dear ‘Should I Try’
I am a SOIT officer for the Metropolitan Police. My job is as a single point of contact to victims of serious sexual violence, throughout the process of reporting to the Police.
I shall try and give as much information as I can.
Firstly, my sincere sympathy for the situation that you find yourself in. Supporting the parents of my victims have been some of the hardest moments of my career.
To answer the line ‘would the police be interested, or would they just shrug it off as something that can’t be proved’. Categorically, every single case of rape that is reported is taken seriously. It is no secret that the % of reported rapes that result in a conviction are frighteningly low, around 3%. But what I would say is that you cannot compare rape cases, they range from some of the most ghastly incidents that I don’t care to summarise, to complete fantasies made by people sadly suffering from ill mental health. All I can say, is that each case is investigated to the most it can be and each case is assessed by the CPS on its merits. To put it into perspective, for us to close a report, every closure is reviewed by our Detective Chief Inspector who has to agree the decision.
In regards to ‘should you try’ the answer is it’s not your decision. Please forgive me for being blunt, this incident will undoubtedly plague your thoughts and you want to do the right thing and solve the problem. Your daughter clearly trusts you, as she has shared this with you. She is looking for support, you can advise her, encourage her. But ultimately, you should make her know that you will support whatever decision she makes.
The process is a very personal one, it is also a very long one - you can be waiting over a year for a definitive answer. And at the end of that year, it may not be the news you are hoping for. It is therefore an individual choice for each person as to how they want to proceed. What I say to each and every victim I work with, is that I do not know how I myself would respond being in that position, as I have never been in that position and I am not arrogant enough to say that I know how I would respond. It is not a matter of being strong enough, or doing the right thing - my question would be, would your daughter feel better by going through the process. The process is a long, intrusive but as respectful one as possible. It can bring victims closure, but in other cases it can aggravate depression or anxiety. I also say, that if the investigation is successful, we convict bad person for rape and he gets 20 years, fantastic. But if the victim is a shell of their former self and is quite frankly not ‘okay’, then that is not a success. Your daughter’s support network starts with you, but there is support available from ‘The Haven’s’ in London or from the SARC’s outside of London. (I don’t know what the equivalent would be called outside of the UK) This support is healthcare led, and is independent from a police investigation. Though we do work in partnership with them.
The process / (Metropolitan Police)
- Victim makes initial report. Usually over the phone or in a Police Station.
- They will be contacted by Response Team Officers, these officers will do the 4 W’s, they will ask: ‘What happened’, ‘who did it’, ‘where did it happen’, when did it happen’. These officers will create a crime report.
- The victim will be contacted by a SOIT officer, the SOIT will explain the process and will want to build a rapport with the victim as they are the single point of contact for that person for the rest of the process. The SOIT will speak to the victim and will be trying to gather as much information as possible, to lead the investigation.
- The SOIT will interview the victim in a respectful way. (Referred to as a Video Recorded Interview (VRI)Or Achieving Best Evidence (ABE). This is instead of ‘giving a statement’.
- The suspect will be interviewed, likely arrested, the suspects devices (phone) will normally be seized if relevant.
- A comparison of accounts will be made, lines of enquiry generated.
- Police will want to speak to the first complainant, (the first person the victim spoke to) and get a statement from them. As well as any other lines of enquiry that are necessary, this is entirely dependent on what the suspect says in interview. For example, the police might demand Uber records from Uber, if the suspect got an uber to the house. That would prove that the suspect was there, but if the suspect isn’t denying that it was him who was at the house, then that would be irrelevant.
- Having made every enquiry that can be conceived of, every witness spoken to, statements taken etc. The Police will usually submit it to the CPS for consideration. If the victim knows the suspect, then it’s likely that a victim phone download will be requested. This is to review messages shared between the two, as well as GPS data and other data that may be relevant, depending on the case.
The CPS will then look at whether it has a ‘reasonable chance of conviction’. If they decide that it does, then suspect will be charged, if they don’t - the case will be closed. The important distinction here, is that it is not the police/cps saying that they don’t believe the victim, but rather that the evidence is not there to prove it.
If charged, the case would go to court.
Your daughter’s circumstances
Due to the timeframe, there is no forensic evidence to prove that sex took place.
The fact that the friend not only was the first complainant but also witnesses the rape, ‘dragged him off’ is huge. This would make her a ‘significant witness’. So it’s no longer one word vs another’s, as you’ve got a witness. If you imagine that in most instances, there are not witnesses to rape - this is unusual. I would also want to know, what made the friend know that it wasn’t consensual. The friend’s clearly walked in and didn’t think, oh I’ll leave them alone- they’ve dragged them off. So whatever it was that made them know it was rape, is clearly a big part of that witnesses testimony.
I would guess by the fact the man visited the house, that there will be some message contact. These are all lines of enquiry.
I will not say ‘this would or would not result in a charge’, however as described - there are lines of enquiry present and some which are considerably stronger than most cases that I work on.
My final word of warning, your daughter’s credibility is the most important factor in this entire investigation. In order for an investigation to have a chance, the victim has to be flawless in their honesty and their integrity. What I mean by this, is if your daughter was also doing coke, they need to say so. If the defense can find a single embarrassing fact that the victim ‘didn’t mention’ then they can suggest ‘well what else is the victim lying about’. The Police are not going to care if the victim did a line (or 100) lines of coke before the assault, but they do need to know. I mean no offence to your daughter at all, I have no knowledge of what the circumstances were, but I try and explain the significance of integrity, and the weakness that an unrelated embarrassing emission can have.
I hope some of this is helpful. I cannot make the process better, but I can try and make it an informed process and help people make an informed decision.
Best wishes,
P