Form for Evaluating Police Response to Rape and Sexual Assault

Introduction

The following form is designed for use by victims of rape and sexual assault, for use by advocates, and by law enforcement. It's designed to help you evaluate the police response to your individual rape or sexual assault case. Or it can be used as a means to provide feedback to your police department and your communities on how police response to rape and sexual assault can be improved.

The questions in the form are divided into three parts: The Initial Police Response, The Victim Interview, The Investigation Follow-Up. The majority of questions focus on the police interview of the victim. This is because, compared to other crimes, the investigation of sexual assault relies more heavily on the victim interview. In addition, many of the questions pertain to the victim's comfort and safety in the investigation process. This is because careful attention to a victim's comfort and safety is essential for obtaining an unrestricted and comprehensive victim statement.

The form doesn't cover all aspects of police response to rape and sexual assault. Instead it aims to touch on key topics that should help guide you in your own more thorough evaluation. Also, some of the questions may not pertain to your particular experience. Investigation procedures will vary depending on the individual circumstances of the cases and on the different investigatory approaches from one agency to the next.

Form for Evaluating Police Response

Please read the following notes before using the form.
Notes:

• You don't have to answer questions that don't pertain to your situation, and, of course, you don't have to answer any question(s) you don't want to answer.
  
• Feel free to put your comments, explanations, and things you want to remember, in the spaces between the questions or in the space provided at the end of the form.

2. If you reported to police within 72 hours of the assault, did the officer offer for you to have a medical rape exam?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

3. Did the responding officer inform you of your right to have a victim advocate and a support person present with you during the medical exam and during the interview with detectives? (California Penal Code Sections 679.04 and 264.2 require law enforcement to inform victims of these rights. Laws vary from state to state.)
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

4. If English is not your first language, did the officer offer you a professional translator (either a fully bilingual officer or a telephone translator - not a family member or neighbor)?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

5. Did the responding officer clearly explain to you what was happening at each step of his or her response?
Yes____ No____

6. Did the officer ask if you had any questions or concerns?
Yes____ No____

7. Do you feel the responding officer answered your questions and concerns as you needed?
Yes____ No____

8. Did the responding officer give you his or her contact phone number?
Yes____ No____

9. Did the responding officer give you complete information about what would happen next, when it would happen, and who you could contact at the police department in the days to come?
Yes____ No____

10. Do you feel that the responding officer in any way judged your behavior, or blamed you for the attack, or disbelieved you?
Yes____ No____

Explain:_________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

11. If you knew someone who wanted to report a rape or sexual assault to the police, would you recommend them to this particular officer?
Yes____ No____

Why or Why Not?_____________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Part II: The Victim Interview

1. In making arrangements for the interview, did the detective or investigating officer offer to do the interview at a location that was comfortable for you?
Yes____ No____

2. In making arrangements for the interview, were you informed of your right to have a victim advocate and a support person of your choosing present during the interview by the detective or investigating officer? (California Penal Code Section 670.04 requires this advisement. The laws vary from state to state.)
Yes____ No____

3. If English is not your first language, were you asked if you would feel more comfortable doing the interview in your native language?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply ____

4. If you wanted or needed a translator, did the detective or investigating officer have a professional translator available for you at the interview?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply ____

5. Before beginning the interview, did the detective or investigating officer ask if you felt comfortable and safe?
Yes____ No____

6. In making arrangements for the interview, did the detective or investigating officer ask if you had any questions?
Yes____ No____

7. Did the detective or investigating officer answer all your questions to your satisfaction?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

8. Before the interview, did the detective or investigating officer ask you if you had fears or concerns about reporting the crime or about prosecuting the perpetrator?
Yes____ No____

9. If you expressed concerns about reporting the crime (such as fear of retaliation, fear of people finding out, fear of problems with family members, housing, job, school, or problems with the law, etc.) did the detective or investigating officer offer to help you deal with these problems?
Yes____ No____

10. Was your advocate or support person made to feel comfortable and welcome at the interview by the detective or investigating officer?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

11. Were you informed that the interview would be recorded?
Yes____ No____

12. Was the interview recorded (either audio or video tape?)
Yes____ No____

13. Were you told that you could stop the interview at any point to take a break or to ask questions?
Yes____ No____

14. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you detailed questions about the perpetrator's pre-rape behavior? (Any unusual pre-rape behavior by the perpetrator can be important evidence, such as the rapist's pre-rape attempts to isolate you, to close off escape routes, to get other people out of the way, or to give bazaar explanations of things to you or others, etc.)
Yes____ No____

17. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you for complete details about the sexual assault itself?
Yes____ No____

18. Did the detective or investigating officer seem comfortable in asking you detailed questions about the assault?
Yes____ No____

NOTE: In order to prosecute a sexual assault, the authorities need to show how you were forced to have sex or how you were unable to give consent. So the detective or investigating officer needs to get an accurate statement from you describing exactly what it was that made you feel forced to have sex.

19. If no form of physical force was used in your assault (i.e. if there were no weapons or physical restraints) did the detective or investigating officer ask exactly what the suspect said or did that made you feel forced to have sex?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

20. If you didn't physically resist, did the detective or investigating officer ask you to describe what you thought might happen if you had resisted or if you refused to submit to the sex?
Yes____ No____ Doesn't Apply____

21. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you to describe your fears before and during the rape?
Yes____ No____

22. Were you asked if you recalled any marks, tattoos, or scars on the perpetrator's body?
Yes____ No____

23. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you for any and all statements made by the perpetrator during the attack?
Yes____ No____

24. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you about any and all threats made by the perpetrator at any time?
Yes____ No____

25. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you detailed questions about your behavior after the assault? (Any change in your routine behavior following the rape can be important evidence - changes such as missing work or classes, changing locks, avoiding specific people or groups, seeking counseling, making unusual excuses for your behavior, canceling scheduled activities, etc.)
Yes____ No____

26. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you for complete information about how to contact all the people you told about the assault and the people who witnessed your post-rape behavior?
Yes____ No____

27. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you to try and think about any others who might also be a victim of the same perpetrator?
Yes____ No____

28. If you knew the perpetrator, did the detective ask if you wanted to make a pretext call? (A pretext call is a phone call, tape recorded by police, made by you to the perpetrator with the goal of tricking the perpetrator into talking about the crime.)
Yes____ No____

29. Did you feel the detective or investigating officer prepared you well for the pretext call?
Yes____ No____

30. Did you do a pretext call?
Yes____ No____

31. Did the detective or investigating officer ask you to keep thinking about what might be additional evidence or additional witnesses in the case?
Yes____ No____

32. Were you asked by the detective or investigation officer to contact him or her immediately if you were being harassed, intimidated, or threatened in any way by the suspect or by others?
Yes____ No____

33. Did the detective or investigating officer explain to you that it is a crime if any one tried to get you to change your story or to not testify, and that you should report it to police immediately?
Yes____ No____

34. Did the detective or investigating officer give you his or her work phone number?
Yes____ No____

35. Did the detective or investigating officer tell you when he or she would get back in touch with you?
Yes____ No____

36. Do you feel that the responding officer in any way judged your behavior, or blamed you for the attack, or disbelieved you?
Yes____ No____

Explain:________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

37. At any point, did the officer's questions feel hostile to you?
Yes____ No____

Part III: Investigation Follow-Up

1. Were you kept informed about the progress of the investigation and the status of the case by the detective or investigating officer?
Yes____ No____

2. Were all the witnesses you know of interviewed by the detective or investigating officer?
Yes____ No____

3. Were your phone calls to the detective or investigating officer returned by the officer in a timely manner?
Yes____ No____

4. Do you feel the detective or investigating officer was concerned about your safety throughout the investigation?
Yes____ No____

5. If the perpetrator was not arrested soon after the assault, or was never arrested, did the detective give you a careful explanation of why the suspect wasn't arrested?
Yes____ No____

6. If you knew someone who wanted to report a rape or sexual assault to the police, would you recommend them to this particular detective or investigating officer?
Yes____ No____

Why or Why Not?_________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Additional Comments: (Please feel free to use this space for any comments you wish to make regarding the general feeling of the experience of reporting the crime, specific comments to your case, things that the responding and/or investigating officer did that helped you, or suggestions on how law enforcement officials can improve to responding to, investigating, and meeting the needs of victims of cases involving rape and sexual assault.)
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

*Reminder: all questions are optional, you are not required to answer any questions you don't want to answer.

Today's Date:___________________________________
Name of Police Department:________________________
Date and Approximate Time of Call to Police:___________
______________________________________________
Your Name:_____________________________________
Crime Report #:__________________________________

Feel free to photocopy and distribute this information as long as you keep the credit and text intact.
Copyright © Marie De Santis,
Women's Justice Center,
www.justicewomen.com
rdjustice@monitor.net