The Attrition Problem in Rape Cases: Exploring the Role of Police Officers’ Decision Making

The conviction rate for rape in England and Wales is exceptionally low, this is termed the ‘attrition problem’. A large proportion of case attrition occurs at the policing stage of a complaint. This thesis explores the role that police officers’ decision making takes in shaping the attrition of rape cases in England and Wales. Twenty-nine qualitative interviews with recently retired or serving police officers were conducted. Hypothetical rape vignettes were used to elicit how they would make decisions and handle rape cases. Furthermore, an enquiry was made into their own views of the barriers to gaining rape convictions. The findings of this thesis explore a multitude of factors that influence the way police officers make decisions when handling rape cases. Police officers were found to employ a legal rationality when deliberating over cases and essentially to ‘second guess’ their outcome. This resulted in cases deemed more likely to be convicted having more resources and time channelled into them and not being discontinued; the opposite was true of cases deemed to be weaker. This finding mirrored earlier research studies, this thesis highlights that this process is still occurring. Numerous extra-legal factors also influence how police officers assess the strength of cases. A further original finding highlights how the predictions on cases officers make, by their own admission, are often inaccurate. This is a salient flaw in the legally rational decision making. A further key finding was that officers who work on rape cases can become disheartened and demotivated due to a lack of occupational reward from rarely seeing a case reach a conviction. Further, officers stated that the main difficulty with investigating rape offences was often a lack of independent evidence to prove the absence of consent. A central recommendation is to explore alternatives to the traditional criminal justice response to rape offences.