Is police investigation of rape biased by characteristics of victims?

Abstract

Aim To explore differences in police investigations between cases of rape against women with and without vulnerability factors.

Methods Retrospective, descriptive study of cases of rape against women ≥16 years of age. Cases involving victims with and without vulnerability factors were compared regarding the quality of police investigation.

Results Vulnerability was present among 68% of the victims. Cases with vulnerable victims had an adjusted odds ratio for a low-quality police investigation of 2.1 (95% CI [1.0–4.4]) compared to cases where victims were non-vulnerable.

Conclusions Our results do not prove that rape myths existed among police officers. Our findings show a trend indicating that vulnerable victims may have been less prioritized compared to non-vulnerable victims. More studies are needed regarding how the police respond to rape complaints and to what degree police investigations are influenced by different characteristics of victims.