Changing Police Officers’ Attitudes in Sexual Offense Cases: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study

• Author: Patrick Tidmarsh,Gemma Hamilton,Stefanie J. Sharman
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854820921201
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2020, Vol. 47, No. 9, September 2020, 1176 –1189.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854820921201

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© 2020 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

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CHANGING POLICE OFFICERS’ ATTITUDES IN

SEXUAL OFFENSE CASES

A 12-Month Follow-Up Study

PATRICK TIDMARSH

University of Melbourne

GEMMA HAMILTON

RMIT University

STEFANIE J. SHARMAN

Deakin University

We examined whether specialist training can have an immediate and lasting impact on investigators’ attitudes in sexual

offense cases. Australian police officers participated in a 4-week training program that focused on the dynamics of sexual

offending. Officers completed questionnaires before, immediately after, and 9 to 12 months following training. They were

presented with scenarios involving adult and child complainants with varying levels of evidence (strong, weak, or ambigu-

ous) and rated their confidence that the case would be approved for prosecution, the likelihood of a guilty verdict, and the

level of responsibility attributed to the victim. Following training, investigators became more confident in case approvals and

guilty verdicts, less likely to attribute responsibility to victims, and demonstrated better understanding of sexual offense

dynamics. Ratings of victim responsibility and guilty verdicts were maintained 9 to 12 months post-training; however, con-

fidence in case approvals decreased after working in the field. Implications for police training programs are discussed.

Keywords: police attitudes; rape myths; specialist police training; sexual offending; whole story

Rape and sexual abuse cases have high attrition rates from the criminal justice system,

with a particularly high rate at the police investigative stage (Brown et al., 2007; Daly

& Bouhours, 2010; Fitzgerald, 2006; Hansen et al., 2019; Kelly et al., 2005). One explana-

tion is that police hold misconceptions about rape and sexual abuse victim-survivors (i.e.,

believe rape myths) that might impact their decision-making about whether to proceed with

an investigation or recommend prosecution. For example, one such misconception is that

“real” rape victims sustain physical injuries during an assault. Typically, however, many

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gemma Hamilton,

Criminology and Justice Studies, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, GPO Box

2476, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; e-mail: gemma.hamilton@rmit.edu.au.

921201CJBXXX10.1177/0093854820921201Criminal Justice and BehaviorTidmarsh et al. / Police Attitudes and Sexual Offenses

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