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Generally, the application of geographic profiling (also known as geoprofiling) is under-researched and its scientific and theoretical foundations, as well as the existing research evidence of its effectiveness, claimed to be inadequate and questionable. Notwithstanding, the present study explored the role of geographic profiling, in the context of the South African serial rapist, by scrutinising, amongst others, the locations of their crime sites. The basic theoretical assumptions underlying geographic profiling, their empirical validity, methods of constructing geographic profiles, and geographic profiling’s accuracy were also probed. Findings presented pioneering criminological insights on how serial rapists navigated to and from their crime sites, which could potentially assist national and international crime investigators with the prediction of subsequent offence locales.

This paper presents a system of recommendations for investigating attempted rape, which supplements the existing criminalistic methodology of rape investigation. Problems of proving attempt at rape are listed. The author offers a classification of typical investigation situations for attempted rape. It is noted that the most challenging investigation situations are as follows: a rape attempt was committed by an unknown person who fled the crime scene; a series of attempted rapes was committed; attempted rape led to the death of the victim. Specific characteristics of the subject of proving cases of attempted rape are shown. Typical lines of investigation are enumerated and the potential of specific investigation actions for this category of crimes are examined. The value of testimonies of the victim at the establishment of voluntary refusal of rape is considered. The evidence value of forensic, traceological examinations in cases of attempted rape is underlined. The author shows the practical value of forensic psychological examination in the cases where attempted rape or the preparation of rape resulted in the death of the victim after a fall from a height. A conclusion is argued that it is necessary to recognize as wrong the recommendation of conducting a psychologicalpsychiatric examination when verifying a report of attempt at rape. Authors substantiate the need to study investigative practice in cases of necessary defense, on exceeding the limits of necessary defense, on crimes against life and health in which the suspect puts forward an acquittal version about physical protection against sexual assault.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. This article examines quantitative and qualitative data in an analysis of the workings of a specialist rape investigation unit and compares its performance with a non-specialist investigative approach. This is the first study to examine the work of a specialist rape investigation unit in this way. The research finds that the specialist unit outperformed the non-specialist investigative approach in many, though not all performance measures, including charging and ‘reached court’ rates in rape cases, retention of cases characterised by complex victim vulnerability, allocation of Sexual Assault Investigation Trained (SAIT) officers, rate of referral to Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) and accuracy of crime recording. Further, police officer interview data suggest that team working and support, communication and a sense of common purpose were distinctive features of the specialist unit, when contrasted to experience of working in a non-specialist policing environment. These findings have policy and resource implications for the policing of rape and the need to achieve the best possible investigative standards in sexual offence cases, including the provision of appropriate care and addressing the needs of highly vulnerable victims. The article concludes by arguing that there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that investigative specialism is a crucial element in the police response to rape.

This book review is, in part, a tribute to honour Robert R. (Roy) Hazelwood (the first editor), who recently passed away. Some readers may be unfamiliar with Roy Hazelwood and his many accomplishme...

This paper looks at the progression of rape cases through the criminal justice system, from report to court, exploring the different attrition trajectories for cases that can be characterized as involving acquaintance, intimate domestic violence, and historical child sexual abuse contexts. Using police data from three police forces in England covering 87 cases, interviews relating to 15 victim/survivors and interviews with criminal justice professional, the paper explores investigative processes and victim engagement across rape cases and their different trajectories through the criminal justice system. The legal and extra-legal factors that have been identified in the previous literature as increasing attrition, such as relationship between victim and offender, vulnerability of victim, and evidential issues, were all seen to play some part in the attrition and trajectories of the cases discussed here, but were relevant to different degrees depending on whether the cases involved acquaintance, intimate domestic violence, or historical child sexual abuse. If we are to more effectively deal with the “justice gap” that exists in rape cases, an important aspect is to understand the differences between these groups of cases and the particular circumstance and needs of the victims in these different contexts.

Emphasizes the collaborative roles of investigators, health care professionals and prosecuters in the case of the rape victim and the apprehension and conviction of the rapist.

Most police forces in England and Wales make use of specialist rape or sexual assault investigation units. Yet, there is little robust research concerning the impact of such units or their efficacy compared to a non-specialist policing response. This report details the results of an analysis of 441 police case files involving a specialist rape investigation unit (Operation Bluestone) and a comparator non-specialist policing area. The case file data comprises all rape investigations conducted over a two year period. The report examines the progression of recorded cases through the criminal justice process, case characteristics, victim care and support, vulnerability and crime recording. Analysis of the case file data shows that the Bluestone unit outperformed the comparator across a range of performance measures.

This article presents a qualitative evaluation of a new method of operation for sexual assault investigation developed by Victoria Police. The model is characterised by two core components: the establishment of specialist teams of investigators responsible for investigation and victim support; and the establishment of service sites, referred to as 'Multidisciplinary Centres', where all key services are located in a single building separate from police stations. The research approach consisted of in-depth interviews with 90 stakeholders (police, counsellors, medical officers, child protection workers and prosecutors). Collectively, these interviews revealed strong, unanimous support for the ideologies that underpinned the new reforms. Reported outcomes included the following: improved collaboration; increased victim satisfaction, referrals between professionals and reporting rates; reduced response and investigation times; better quality briefs; and higher prosecution and conviction rates. These findings, along with the stakeholders' suggestions for further improvements, are discussed.

This paper evaluates the Stern Review of rape in the context of public responses to rape, in England and Wales. The piece is based on an anti-rape feminist approach and so weighs a woman-centred approach to rape responses against the mainstream justice model. Overall, the argument made is that nothing much is really changing in public responses to rape. The work outlines problems with the Stern contention that the conviction rates for rape need to be calculated differently, and takes issue with the claim that the “policies are right”. Stern's call for greater support for women who have been raped is welcomed, but the effectiveness of the review process itself is questioned. These discussions illustrate the process of attrition as it is variously understood by feminists and by Baroness Stern. It is suggested that reviews themselves may be little more than a dampener, brought in when claims for change create a need to be seen to be doing something. A preferred alternative might be some form of ongo...

Despite numerous reviews, reports and commissions of inquiry, the investigation and prosecution of rape cases remains fraught. Victims are still ambivalent about reporting incidents of sexual violence, while those who do often struggle to be believed and have their cases progress through justice systems. This paper explores some of the reasons why promised reforms materialise so rarely into tangible benefits for the majority of rape complainants, and focuses on six areas: reporting, attrition, adversarial justice systems, victim support, specialisation and attitudes. These are canvassed with particular reference to examples from England and New Zealand demonstrating the barriers to substantive reform and the ways in which gender inequalities and patriarchal beliefs continue to impact upon both the prevalence of sexual violence as well as state responses to its occurrence. The paper contains a cautionary message regarding the potential dangers involved in accepting the rhetoric of reform while the...

In the forensic laboratory the biological analyses for rape investigation commonly include vaginal swabs as sample material combined to biochemical tests including sperm cytology (SC) and detection of acid phosphatase activity (AP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA, p30) for the conclusive identification of semen components. Most reports comparing these tests relied on analysis of semen samples or donor swabs taken under controlled conditions; however their individual or combined efficacy under real live sampling conditions in different laboratories is largely unknown. We carried out SC, APA and PSA analyses in vaginal swabs collected from casework rapes submitted to Mexican Forensic Laboratories at Texcoco and Toluca. On the basis of positive and negative results from each assay and sample, data were classified into eight categories (I-VIII) and compared with those obtained in the two only similar studies reported in Toronto, Canada and Hong Kong, China. SC and APA assays had the higher overall positivity in Toluca and Texcoco samples respectively and otherwise PSA had a lower but very similar positivity between these two laboratories. When compared to the previous studies some similarities were found, namely similar frequencies (at a ratio of approximately 1 out of 3) of samples being positive or negative by all techniques (Categories I and VI respectively) and a comparable overall positivity of APA and SC but higher than that of PSA. Indeed the combined results of using SC, APA and PSA tests was considered as conclusive for semen detection from approximately 1 out of 3 cases (Category I) to approximately 1 out of 2 cases in a scenario where at least SC is positive, strongly presumptive in 2 out of 3 cases (with at least one test positive) and the remainder 1 out of 3 cases (Category VI) suggested absence of semen. By determining Y-STR polymorphisms (12-loci) in additional samples obtained at Toluca laboratory, complete DNA profiles were determined from all Category I samples, none marker was detected from all Category VI samples and mostly partial profiles were obtained from samples of other categories. These observations give an overview on the variability in efficacy of each test performed at different laboratories and provide a general notion about the in praxis contribution of SC, APA and PSA tests for further DNA typing in the forensic analysis of rape.

The SERATEC® PSA Semiquant and RSID®-Semen tests are immunoassay kits that identify semen by detecting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and semenogelin (Sg), respectively. Both kits were tested with semen, urine, blood, saliva, vaginal secretions and breast milk in order to determine their sensitivity and specificity. These results demonstrate that the SERATEC PSA kit is more sensitive than the RSID-Semen kit with a limit of detection of 200 ng/mL as opposed to 8.0 × 103ng/mL. The RSID-Semen kit gave no false-positives or -negatives compared with 2.9% false-negatives with the SERATEC PSA kit. Results from postcoital samples show the RSID-Semen kit to be more effective, indicating that this kit is more suitable for semen identification in the Haven Suites. As a more robust and cost-effective kit, the SERATEC PSA test is recommended for use at crime scenes. The ability to obtain DNA profiles from the buffer of both kits demonstrates the potential benefit of these kits in a rape investigation. The use of these kits at crime scenes would provide an invaluable contribution by prioritizing samples for subsequent analysis, thereby allowing greater efficiency with investigation times.

In cases of rape, obtaining enough biologic material for DNA identification of the attacker is often difficult because the methods for distinguishing and separating sperm cells from vaginal cells are not sufficiently efficacious. This article describes a new, innovative method for spermatic DNA extraction from the vaginal washing fluid by means of flow cytometry. The high specificity and sensitivity of the flow-cytometric sorting method provides enough sperm cells for DNA typing. The ease of execution of this method, involving vaginal washing with physiologic solution and flow-cytometric reading of the fresh sample, substantially increases its cost-benefit ratio.

The X-chromosomal markers are increasingly used in forensic genetics, particularly for relationship testing. Their use has become a valuable tool in complex cases of kinship but rather in criminal caseworks is still quite rare. In this paper the authors present a case of sexual assault in which the use of X chromosome polymorphisms has been crucial. The victim was a young immigrant woman found dead in her home. The main suspect was her husband. However, the couple lived in a community in which the particular cultural context suggested the involvement of the other males of the husband family. The suspect lived together with his brother, his father and his uncle. Generally, a useful tool to solve cases of sexual violence is undoubtedly the use of Y chromosome, but in this case this device could not discriminate between the four males involved. An additional factor has further complicated the situation: the most important biological evidence (typed with AmpFlSTR Identifiler and AmpFlSTR NGM) showed a mixed profile in which was very difficult to discriminate the suspects profiles. To solve the casework, the authors typed the victim, the suspects and the biological traces with 6 X-STRs in an homemade esaplex. The results showed the presence of victim and her husband profiles in the biological trace excluding his brother, father and uncle's profiles.

This text is divided into four sections. The first four chapters deal with the victim—describing the victim's perspective, rape trauma syndrome, crisis care for the victim, and include a review of contemporary issues and a new chapter on victims in nursing homes. The next ten chapters discuss the investigation of rape and sexual assault, focusing on classifying the rape and profiling the behavior of the offender, including a discussion of false confessions. The third section consists of three chapters describing the recognition and collection of forensic evidence, the forensic medical examination of the victim, and the prosecutor's presentation of the case in court. The fourth section consists of six chapters on special populations, including juvenile and female offenders and sexual predators in nursing homes. The stated aim of this 3rd edition is to present current research findings, new forensic techniques, and recent data about special populations of victims and offenders.