New police approach to rape cases

[LeMoo]

www.theguardian.com/society/2022/oct/24/operation-bluestone-inside-new-police-approach-to-tackling-rape

Reading this I could almost cry with relief and hope. I know this is just a start, a drop in the ocean, but every day I see more and more evidence of ingrained and institutionalised misogyny everywhere...that we could be seeing the beginnings of a change that might make an actual difference is a bit overwhelming.

Thank god something is being done. Rape has become a crime that pretty much goes unpunished. Reports and convictions are so low.

A person close to me was raped in a far flung country a few years ago. The victim support was minimal; however they put 40 (!) police officers on the case and tracked down the perps - who were strangers to my loved one - within 24 hours, by way of CCTV, tracing stolen bank notes etc. They were arrested and charged.

I doubt the story would have been the same here.

When she returned she attending some sessions with a local rape crisis organisation. The lady who worked with her told her that she definitely WASN'T a counsellor or therapist. The reason for this is that if a traumatised rape victim sees a therapist or counsellor in the aftermath of the attack it will be used against her in court. Yes really. The defence will say she has been coached in what to say.

I do wonder how some of these cunts of lawyers sleep at night, but really the whole culture and practice of how rape is dealt with in Britain is horrendous.

This sounds both wonderful and heartbreakingly obvious.

Good on Somerset Police and may it be taken up everywhere.

I wonder if it's been a bit of a vicious circle: police know that juries will only believe a few victims > they only bother with investigating the crimes relating to a few victims > a very tiny number of cases go to court and result in conviction. In other words, they haven't really been bothering to do proper police work if they think the victim won't be believed - even though their police work could provide evidence!

Goldencupid

I know people who work in this field. On the whole most officers will still thoroughly investigate rape cases even if there are concerns about a victim
(NB - it’s not necessarily because the Police don’t believe the victim saying they were raped but often because a victims’s account is not consistent with what is found out e.g cctv from a bar showing the victim/suspect before the rape shows something different to what the victim says or text messages between them paint a very different picture etc…).

Officers have to gather all available evidence and have to record evidence that points to the offender committing the crime and away from them too.

These days Officers meet with CPS for ‘early advice’ (referred to in the article) where Officers discuss the investigation with a lawyer and what enquiries to make so those enquiries have to be carried out.

I think our force pretty much does this anyway. if a suspect is identified, he is interviewed at the earliest opportunity. If its a 'live' job, he will be classed as crime scene in any case, so will need to be medically examined/swabbed etc etc

The victim/survivor is seen as a priority and put on touch with support services.

Thanks that's interesting - so do you think this approach sounds different or no? (in the article)

Goldencupid

Yes the approach is different. For starters there are more specialist Officers being deployed so you have officers who only deal with the victim, officers who only deal with the suspect interview and other officers can go off and help with enquiries like cctv, witnesses, the scene etc.so the whole investigation hits the ground running.

CPS early advice really focuses the investigation too with what evidence needs to be obtained to give a better chance of the suspect being charged and ultimately getting a conviction in court