Policing rape and serious sexual offences: officers’ insights on police specialism

What is it about?

Increasing pressure on police work and criticism have led to questioning why improvements in the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) are proving ineffective. Previous findings have hypothesised that police specialism could help police officers better tackle RASSO. Most of the interviewed officers viewed specialism as a tool to improve how police forces deal with RASSO investigations. Despite this, the lack of prioritisation of specialist training, roles, and units specifically for this crime type has hindered the development of evidence-based practice in policing. The paper provides an overview of the challenges identified by police officers across four different police forces.

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Photo by Maggie Yap on Unsplash

Photo by Maggie Yap on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This is the first qualitative study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to look at officers’ insights on police specialism for RASSO in England and Wales. Officers discussed day-to-day challenges associated with conducting RASSO investigations while reflecting on potential advantages related to dedicated specialist units and/or specialist roles. The study showed that police officers are presently unsatisfied with how police specialism is operationalised and funded at force level, in spite of having highlighted positive past and prospective effects of specialism for the investigation of RASSO. Delays occurring at a reporting stage can hinder the optimal window of evidence availability, which might result in victims feeling less supported or prioritised. Interviewed officers suggested that specialism should be prioritised to address this, as well as help officers refine their knowledge of RASSO dynamics, increase their investigative competence and make their caseloads more manageable. We argue that for specialism to be successfully implemented, especially in relation to officers’ well-being, managerial and organisational support also needs to be present.