Transcript Lobbying for After

Sexual Assault Crimes Training
for Law Enforcement
Module 3:
Characteristics and Behaviors of Offenders &
Interviewing Suspects
ACTIVITY
What Do You Already Know?
1
What You Will Learn
• Characteristics of sex offenders
• Common offender behavior patterns
• Best practices for interviewing suspects
2
What is the Profile of a Typical
Sex Offender?
3
You Are Looking At Him
4
What Do We Know About
Offenders?
• Most go undetected
• Most are serial
• Serial offenders are often predatory:
they identify, manipulate and exploit
vulnerabilities
• Most choose to assault someone they
know
5
How Many Offenses are
Typical?
• Multiple offenses
• Offending behavior starts in
adolescence and often spans several
decades
• Have often victimized scores, or even
hundreds of individuals
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How Do We Know This?
For the detected rapist
• Researchers gave confidentiality to
offenders in exchange for a truthful
accounting of offending history
• In one study, the average number
of victims was 7; for another 11
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2002 Lisak & Miller Study
This Boston-area study assessed 1,882 men. 120
men disclosed committing completed or attempted
rape. Of those 120 men, 76 disclosed committing :
• 49 sexual assaults
• 439 rapes & attempted rapes
• 66 acts of physical abuse of children
• 277 acts of sexual abuse of children
• 214 acts of battery
Total: 1,045 crimes
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Myth Busters
• Offenders can be likeable men from all
social and economic classes
• Offenders as a group don’t have mental
illnesses
• Offenders usually know their victims
• They may not think of their actions as rape
• They often groom their victims or use other
means, such as alcohol, to coerce.
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The Undetected Rapist
What are some of your
preconceived notions about
offenders?
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ACTIVITY
What are myths about
date rape?
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Who Do Offenders Target?
Offenders often look for victims who are:
• Vulnerable
• Able to be groomed, such as children
• Under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• New to a college campus
• People from oppressed or marginalized
communities, such as people with
disabilities or homeless people
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Activity
ACTIVITY
Offender Fact Check
13
Importance of Suspect’s Words
• Investigator may be one of first
people to hear the suspect deny any
sexual contact with victim
• If they make a statement of denial, be
sure to capture their exact words
• The suspect may resort to a consent
defense later
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Steps for Interviewing Suspects
•
•
•
•
Establish rapport and be respectful
Introduce the topic of concern
Ask for narrative detail and LISTEN
Get clarification of details when
needed
• Ask specific, but non-leading,
questions
• Close the interview
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Interviewer as Interested
Listener
•
•
•
•
Use open-ended questions
Steer suspect to next point in the story
Gently encourage further narrative details
Use non-verbal encouragement (i.e., head
nods, uh-huh, mmmm, pauses, silences)
• Resist the impulse to interrupt
• Use a non-threatening manner
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Tone
• Treat the suspect as valued and
competent informant; demonstrate
that you respect them
• Create a sincere, supportive
environment
• Suspect must believe that their
experiences and perceptions will be
heard and understood, not judged
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An Open Invitation to Talk
The following prompts can invite the
suspect to share information. Ask about:
• The setting
• The initiating event
• Internal response of the suspect
• Plan of action of suspect
• Suspect’s attempt at action
• Consequences of that action
• Reactions of suspect
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What to Avoid
• Don’t begin with an accusatory tone –
even if there is strong evidence
• Don’t give too much information
during the early stages of interview
• Don’t use leading questions
• Don’t interrupt - let them set the pace
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Supportive Prompting
• “The victim says _______. Tell me
what you know about this.”
• “Help me understand why the victim
has said this.”
• “Tell me about the part where
________.”
• “What happened then?”
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Meeting Suspect’s Needs Gets
Results
•
•
•
•
Try using open ended questions and don’t
interrupt their responses.
Let them “tell their side of the story”
Let them portray themselves in a positive
light, which can lower their defenses
Let them perceive their experiences and
perceptions will be heard and understood
Increasing the suspect’s confidence helps
to engage them in the process
21
Give the Suspect Time
• Allow them to answer one
question at a time regardless of
length of response
• Use simple language when asking
questions
• Make sure any disclosure of selfincriminating information is voluntary
and not coerced
22
Ending the Interview
• Summarize and allow the suspect to ask
questions
• Use respect and keep the door open to
more conversations
• Inform the suspect of future processes
• If not charging them, thank them for their
participation and invite them to contact
you with any further information
23
ACTIVITY
One Sentence Summary
24
ACTIVITY
What Would You Tell a Colleague?
25
Checklists to Review
on Your Own
 What to SAY to a Victim During First
Response
 What to SAY to a Victim During the
Follow Up Interview
 What to GIVE a Victim
 Forensic Exams – Victims and Suspects
 Reminders for Report Writing for Sexual
Assault Crimes
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Special Thanks
Special thanks to David Lisak for his work on offenders which informs this first
half of this presentation. For more information, please contact David at:
David Lisak, Forensic Consultation and Training
www.davidlisak.com
[email protected]
http://www.davidlisak.com
Special thanks to Joanne Archambault, End Violence Against Women
International (EVAWI). Foundational material in this module is based on
concepts and information found in the Online Training Institute developed by
EVAWI. For more information, please contact:
Joanne Archambault, Executive Director
End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI)
http://www.evawintl.org/onlinetraining.aspx
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Citation
• Read, J., Powell, M., Kebbell, M. and Milne,
Becky (2009). Investigative interviewing of
suspected sex offenders: a review of what
constitutes best practice. International Journal
of Police Science & Management, 11 (4).
pp.442-459. ISSN 1461-3557 10.1350/ijps.2009.11.4.143
This module was produced by Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. (CONNSACS) in collaboration with
the Connecticut Police Officers Standards and Training Council (POSTC) and the Connecticut Police Chiefs
Association (CPCA) through the support of subgrant No. 2009-WF-AX-0019 awarded by the state administrating
office for the STOP Formula Grant Program. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations
expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the state or
the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
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