ABSTRACT
When rape investigations routinely fail, the responsibility for these failures lies with police forces as organisations. Radical improvement requires police forces as organisational entities to take decisive steps. Too often, police forces let organisational responsibilities slip onto the shoulders of individual officers, resulting in inconsistent and inadequate police responses to rape disclosures. We propose three organisational enablers that mirror police services’ three primary resources: people, data, and (digital forensic) technology. Investment in people begins with living the principles of organisational justice in how police organisations relate to their officers. This requires addressing workloads, chronic stress, vicarious trauma, and effective, career-long learning and development programmes. Intelligence and data are the lifeblood of crime investigation and prevention. Yet police forces do not record, analyse, and use data to their full effect. Improving the use of police data and analytics thus is a second lever. Finally, digital forensic evidence is now the norm in criminal investigations. Police forces have not equipped officers with the knowledge, skills, and resources to utilise it effectively, legally, and ethically. Within each of the three areas, police services must consider how they shape their organisational climate, processes, and systems.
