Before Arrest: The Effects of Rape Myths on Evidence Collection Decisions in Sexual Assault Investigations

Rape myths related to victim behavior and credibility influence police decisions, contributing to attrition at the unfound and arrest stages. How rape myth influence earlier investigative decisions (e.g., interview witnesses) is unknown. Addressing this gap is important, because evidence-gathering decisions are critical for successful case processing. I draw on the focal concerns framework and use data from the Los Angeles Sexual Assault Study (n = 616; Spohn and Tellis 2014) to quantitatively assess the effects of rape myths on three investigative decisions: interviewing witnesses, conducting pretext phone calls, and interviewing suspects. These tactics were underused. As predicted, police were more likely to interview witnesses when victims were credible and cases involved "real rape" characteristics. Other hypotheses were not supported. Findings suggest that police need more resources for investigations and more training on the unique nature of sexual violence, types of evidence most useful at trial, and effective investigative tactics.