ABSTRACT
The policing of rape must and can change. The reset of default policing approaches to rape requires shifting from victim-credibility-focused to suspect-focused investigations, meaningful prevention strategies for stopping known perpetrators from further sexual offending, and consistently applying the principles of procedural fairness to the way officers engage with victim-survivors. Police organisations have responsibility for enabling their officers to do right by rape victim-survivors. Fulfilling this responsibility requires, but is not limited to, following the principles of organisational justice to address officer well-being, learning and development, enabling the better use of police data and analytics, and improving digital forensic capabilities and competencies. We discuss the potentials and pitfalls of the implementation of these ideas in Operation Soteria Bluestone and conclude with directions for future research and policy.
