https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8840-5288
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Abstract
The way in which police officers interview sexual offence victims is pivotal to how their cases proceed through the criminal justice system (CJS). However, such interviews have previously been found to be lacking in overall quality, with some interviewers finding them technically difficult and stressful to conduct. In addition, victims often feel disbelieved, unsafe and/or uncomfortable during their police interview. The present study provides insight into the personal experiences of five female adult rape/sexual assault victims regarding their police interviews and the aspects that encouraged them to cooperate and engage during the interview process. Following semi-structured interviews, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to identify three key themes: (i) heading into the unknown, (ii) difficulty of talking about the crime and (iii) helpful and unhelpful interviewer approaches. Implications for practice are discussed, together with the need to further our understanding of this specialist area of police work.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the two organisations that played a key role in developing the project and provided support in the recruitment of participants. Special thanks must also go to Professor Dame Vicki Bruce who provided valuable feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Finally, we would like to thank the participants; without their input this project would not have been possible, and the sharing of their personal experiences is crucial in the ongoing drive to implement changes for the better.
Ethical standards
Declaration of conflicts of interest
William S. Webster has declared no conflict of interests.Gavin E. Oxburgh has declared no conflict of interests.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences Research Ethics Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Notes
1 The authors acknowledge the ongoing debate regarding the terminology that ought to be used when referring to the victim of a crime. National Crime Victim Law Institute (Citation2014) argues that the terms ‘alleged victim’ and ‘complainant’ are inappropriate as they fail to recognise the victim’s legal status. The participants of the present study were all involved in criminal cases that resulted in a prosecution whereby the defendant was found guilty; thus, for the purpose of this article, the term ‘victim’ is used throughout.
2 PEACE is a mnemonic acronym for the five-stage approach, which stands for: Planning and preparation; Engage and explain; Account, clarification and challenge; Closure and Evaluation.
3 A full copy of the interview schedule is available upon request from the lead author.