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Just a small extract from the Report of the Independent Review into The Investigation and Prosecution of Rape in London, Rt Hon Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC - 30 April 2015. Interesting to note that some police don't agree with automatic belief either.
It's worth a scan through. http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/e...eview_2015.pdf
Believing Complainants
220. As mentioned above complainants of rape are uniquely sensitive to the response of those to whom they report and any sign of disbelief can have a negative impact on their willingness to engage with the criminal justice process. It was, however surprising to hear the suggestion made in several focus groups, that it is police policy for officers always to ‘believe the victim’. It was clear too that this understanding caused resentment amongst some officers, especially when it led to a perception that they must continue to investigate cases regardless of whether or not the allegation was true, while being required to suspend disbelief. The review was told however that the genesis of this policy stemmed from a police Special Notice from 2002 (11/02) which set out the principles of rape investigation and stated that, ‘It is the policy of the MPS to accept allegations made by the victim in the first instance as being truthful’. In a further development, the 2005 research A Gap or a Chasm?92 identified one of the reasons for not reporting rape as ‘fear of disbelief’ and concluded that, ‘a culture of belief, support and respect’ would improve the response to reported rape.
222. While complainants clearly want to be believed and may be deterred if they feel this does not happen, it is questionable whether a policy of ‘institutionalised belief’ is appropriate.[/COLOR]
It's worth a scan through. http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/e...eview_2015.pdf
Believing Complainants
220. As mentioned above complainants of rape are uniquely sensitive to the response of those to whom they report and any sign of disbelief can have a negative impact on their willingness to engage with the criminal justice process. It was, however surprising to hear the suggestion made in several focus groups, that it is police policy for officers always to ‘believe the victim’. It was clear too that this understanding caused resentment amongst some officers, especially when it led to a perception that they must continue to investigate cases regardless of whether or not the allegation was true, while being required to suspend disbelief. The review was told however that the genesis of this policy stemmed from a police Special Notice from 2002 (11/02) which set out the principles of rape investigation and stated that, ‘It is the policy of the MPS to accept allegations made by the victim in the first instance as being truthful’. In a further development, the 2005 research A Gap or a Chasm?92 identified one of the reasons for not reporting rape as ‘fear of disbelief’ and concluded that, ‘a culture of belief, support and respect’ would improve the response to reported rape.
222. While complainants clearly want to be believed and may be deterred if they feel this does not happen, it is questionable whether a policy of ‘institutionalised belief’ is appropriate.[/COLOR]
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