Reporting Rape to the Police

Written by Lis

This is generally the way the rape reporting process goes. Each police department though may have a variation of what's below. You can either call the police department or when the officer responds, ask her (most depts. have a woman officer take the rape report to help put you at ease) to explain the procedure before you get started. It may help to reduce your level of fear or anxiety.

Take someone with you to the police station. It is good to have someone familiar with you in a strange place. In most instances, they will be allowed to stay with you all of the time if you want them to. Take someone you feel comfortable talking in front of about what has happened.

INITIAL RESPONSES

1. Patrol unit responds to call.
2. Investigator and coordinator notified and respond.
   
3. The officer sees to the victim's physical condition and asks preliminary questions. If necessary, the victim is taken to the hospital immediately for treatment and evidentiary exam. Victim advised to:

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a. take change of clothing
b. necessity of physical exam, outline of procedures
4. Officer determines the nature of the crime, a description of the assailant, and any other pertinent information to begin the investigation.
5. Officer secures the area and begins examination of crime scene. This ensures that evidence is not destroyed or contaminated.
6. Witnesses are interviewed and preliminary statements are taken.
7. Either before or after the physical exam, the victim is interviewed privately:
   a. officer explains necessity for asking specific personal questions
   b. officer obtains detailed account of the crime
8. Evidence is collected by initial officer or detectives.

If the police are called, you have the right to: 1) discuss it with the officer and then decide to report, 2) discuss it with the officer and decide not to report, 3) refuse to discuss or report it with the officer. These are your rights!

FOLLOW UP

1. After the physical exam, the investigators will:
   a. collect evidence from physical examination
   b. determine whether or not the victim can be interviewed at this time.
2. The investigator will first have the victim describe what happened in her own words. Later, she will be asked specific questions to complete the report.
3. Coordinator will assist victim in contacting support person, give her reference and resources and establish subsequent support throughout the process.

ARRESTING THE PERPETRATOR AND COURT

If the perpetrator admits to the police that he did in fact rape you, he will be arrested and charged. He will appear in court fairly quickly and the judge will decide his fate.

If however, as in most cases, he denies it happened the way you said, and maintains he did it with your consent, you have a long, hard fight ahead of you. This will involve many more visits either by the police, or to the police station or district attorney's office, to make further statements, to clarify points, to try and put together a strong case against the perpetrator.

If he is pleading "not guilty," the police have to ensure there is enough evidence to send to the district attorney's office. The district attorney will then decide if there is enough evidence to ensure that they can get a conviction before they decide to take it to trial.

Once it is in the court's hands, it is a waiting game. The perpetrator will probably have to appear in court several times before any trial begins. It is not unusal in cases where the perpetrator has made no contact with the victim, for him to be free "on bail" until the conclusion of the case.

Even if in the end, the district attorney or the court decides there is not enough evidence to take the allegations you have made to trial, at least you did something about it. You showed him that you were not a victim, not someone that would just take what was done to you. You know you were raped, but you also know that you are a survivor, and that makes a big difference in the healing process.

next: Telling Others About Being Raped