Planning and Preparation
In most cases where an allegation of a sexual offence is reported to the police, the police will begin to take the full statement from the complainant as soon as possible especially where the complainant is the one making the report. In the regional consultations with survivors, there were indications that this can take up to four hours. More recent approaches to police investigation of sexual offences in the UK, Australia and the US are recommending that in the first encounter with the complainant, the police should document the fact of the allegation being reported and that a second encounter to gather the details of the allegation referred to as’the forensic interview’ should be planned. Typically, the forensic interview is conducted after the medical exam and other emergency needs of the complainant are dealt with.
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Guidelines-for-the-Police-Forensic-Interview-in-Sexual-Assault-Cases
