ABSTRACT
Detectives are able to reflect on the various rape victims they have encountered over the course of their careers. This chapter explores probes detective's views of victims and their responses to rape. Victims can be angry and yelling one minute and distraught and crying the next. Detectives also commented that victims emotions can vary when reporting or during police interviews. Focusing only on victims who do not report ignores the reasons that propel victims forward to report rape to the police. Patrol Sergeant Roberts agrees that most of the time law enforcement does not know if the victim was drugged because there is so much memory loss. Research supports that African American victims are less likely than White victims to report to the police or others and fear that the police will not believe or support. Research consistently supports that alcohol is often involved in cases of rape.
