Sexual Assault Detectives' Justifications for Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A Qualitative

213 Pages·2017·1.44 MB·English

by  Shauna Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
5-1-2013
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Shauna Davis
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Davis, Shauna, "Sexual Assault Detectives' Justifications for Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A
Qualitative Study" (2013). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1818.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/4478226
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SEXUAL ASSAULT DETECTIVES’ JUSTIFICATIONS FOR AGGRESSIVE VICTIM

INTERVIEWING METHODS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

By

Shauna M. Davis

Bachelor of Science in Human Services Counseling
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
2007

Master of Public Administration
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
2009

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs

School of Environmental and Public Affairs
Greenspun College of Urban Affairs
The Graduate College

University of Nevada, Las Vegas
May 2013
Copyright by Shauna M. Davis, 2013
All Rights Reserved
THE GRADUATE COLLEGE

We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by

Shauna M. Davis

entitled

Sexual Assault Detectives’ Justifications for Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A
Qualitative Study

be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs
School of Environmental Affairs

M. Alexis Kennedy, Ph.D., Committee Chair

William Sousa, Ph.D., Committee Member

Jessica Word, Ph.D., Committee Member

Larry Ashley, Ed.S., Graduate College Representative

Tom Piechota, Ph.D., Interim Vice President for Research &
Dean of the Graduate College

May 2013

ii
ABSTRACT

Sexual Assault Detectives’ Justifications for Aggressive
Victim Interviewing Methods: A Qualitative Study

by

Shauna Davis

Dr. M. Alexis Kennedy, Committee Chair
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The crime of sexual assault is substantially underreported; yet, when victims do
report, often times they are met with skepticism and blaming attitudes by law
enforcement. Literature shows that sexual assault victims report being further
traumatized by the harsh methods used by police and investigators. The effects of rape
are aggravated when victims have a negative experience upon reporting, making this a
serious concern. Efforts have been made to improve victim treatment but with little
success. With reform efforts dating back to the 1970s, the question that must be asked is
why is this still a problem? Most articles on this topic focus on the victims and their
experiences; yet, there is a major gap in the literature when studying the detectives
themselves and their experiences. The purpose of this study is to understand why some
detectives are resistant to using a sensitive interviewing style with victims. In depth
interviews of 20 sexual assault detectives and sergeants from a large metropolitan police
department were conducted. Five main reasons for resisting sensitive interviewing styles
were found. Theoretical and practical applications of the findings are also discussed
including advice to prevent sexual assault and recommendations to improve victim
treatment from law enforcement.
iii
Acknowledgements

It’s a pleasure to thank my dissertation committee members, Drs. Alexis
Kennedy, Bill Sousa, Jessica Word, and Larry Ashley. Thank you for your guidance and
feedback throughout this process. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful
committee that has been so helpful. I am deeply grateful to my advisor and dissertation
chair, Dr. Alexis Kennedy, for her kindness, wisdom, and guidance during this project. I
admire the work and service that each and every one of you do and I hope to follow in
your footsteps.
I would especially like to thank Dean Bernick for his guidance and help through
my graduate career. It is with your support that I have been able to make it this far and
achieve my educational goals.
This dissertation would not have been possible without the participating police
department. Thank you for your willingness to participate and allowing me the
opportunity to share a glimpse into your world. I have great respect for the work you do
and admire those leaders that progressively seek to better the system.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to my loving family and friends that spent countless
hours listening to me talk about my research and helping me fine tune my work. I
couldn’t have done it without your support and encouragement. Thank you, Thank you!

iv
Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW .............................................................................................1
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................3
Problem ...................................................................................................................3
Effects .....................................................................................................................6
Victim Trauma ............................................................................................6
Case Disposition .......................................................................................10
Causes ...................................................................................................................18
Police Culture ............................................................................................19
Rape Myths ...............................................................................................22
Lack of Training .......................................................................................28
Reform ..................................................................................................................29
Feminist Movement ..................................................................................29
Training .....................................................................................................42
Police Literature ....................................................................................................47
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................52
Research Questions ...............................................................................................53
Methods .................................................................................................................55
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................62
Theoretical Framework .........................................................................................65
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ..............................................................................................68
Research Question #1 What types of investigating methods do sexual assault
detectives use when interviewing victims? ...........................................................68
Non-Aggressive Investigating Style .........................................................72
The Most Aggressive Investigating Style .................................................79
Detecting Deception ..................................................................................84
Female Detectives ...................................................................................107
Research Question #2 Why do sexual assault detectives use aggressive
interviewing methods and why are they resistant to using victim sensitive
interviewing methods? ........................................................................................109
1. Aggression towards False Victims ......................................................110
2. Aggression as a Strategic Technique ..................................................113
3. Aggression as a Defense Mechanism .................................................114
4. Aggression as a Personality Trait .......................................................120
5. Aggression in Police Culture ..............................................................121
Testing Assumptions Underlying Aggressive Interviewing Methods ................125
Victim Cooperation .............................................................................................129
Prevention ...........................................................................................................131
Advice for Teens & Adults .....................................................................131
Advice for Possible “Simple” Offenders ................................................138
Advice for Parents to Protect their Children ...........................................141
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .......................................................................................148
Retraumatization .................................................................................................148
Justifications for Aggressive Methods ................................................................151
Theoretical Application ......................................................................................156
v
Are Aggressive Interviewing Methods Justified? ...............................................165
Recommendations to Improve Victim Treatment ...............................................170
Detectives ................................................................................................171
Politicians ................................................................................................178
Victims ....................................................................................................180
Limitations & Future Research ...........................................................................183
Conclusion ..........................................................................................................187
APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................189
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................193
CURRICULUM VITAE ...............................................................................................202

vi
List of Figures

Figure 1 Four types of lies ...............................................................................................85
Figure 2 Reasons & justifications for aggressive interviewing .....................................111
Figure 3 Assumptions held by detectives using aggressive interviewing methods .......127
Figure 4 Advice from detectives on how to prevent sexual assault ...............................132
Figure 5 Recommendations to improve victim treatment ..............................................182

vii
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW

Since the 1970s there has been a push for law enforcement to abandon their
aggressive investigating methods and to treat sexual assault victims more sensitively.
With all the efforts to improve victim experience (e.g., advocates, research, news articles,
court cases, training programs), there has been little change in how law enforcement
responds to sexual assault victims. Research shows that their aggressive interviewing
methods can cause further trauma to victims, and yet, many detectives are still resistant to
changing their interviewing style. The detectives’ viewpoints on this issue have been
underrepresented in the literature. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to
understand the detectives’ experiences and why they may be resistant to being sensitive
towards victims. The findings from this study will identify the challenges and barriers
for improvement which can lead to more effective policy outcomes with the intent of
improving victim experience.
The first research question asks what types of investigating methods do sexual
assault detectives use when interviewing victims. The second research question asks why
detectives use aggressive methods and why they are resistant to using victim sensitive
interviewing methods. It is important to understand why they are resistant because it is
for these reasons that reform efforts have been unsuccessful. Research thus far has
focused on the victims and their experiences but there is scarce research pertaining to the
detectives’ experiences with victims. This dissertation seeks to give detectives a voice
and to portray the challenges detectives face that the public is generally unaware of.
Twenty sexual assault detectives and sergeants agreed to participate in the study.
Intensive interviews were conducted with each participant to assess their beliefs about
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