# Do female police officers interview female victims of crime in these cases?



## ironpony (Jun 16, 2020)

I've done some research and talked to two police officers, and one said that when it comes to interviewing a female victim of a kidnapping and sexual assault crime, the police would have a female officer interview her alone, and my main character, a male detective, would have to stay out of the interview and find out what was said later, from watching the recording of it, or reading from the notes.

Where as another officer told me later, that this is not true, and the male detective could totally do the interview himself, and it wouldn't come off as going against protocol.  Does anyone know which is the right answer in this one?  Thank you for any input or advice.  I really appreciate it.


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## Amnesiac (Jun 16, 2020)

Not every department _has_ female officers. In such interviews, I've done them, but never in a closed space where the two of us are alone, and if I can get a woman from Family Advocacy or DCS (Dept of Child Services), it's better. Still and all, if I'm investigating the crime, there's no way I'm just turning it over to someone else unless there is an exceedingly compelling reason. (i.e. victim is underage, or I'm too close to becoming emotional, although the latter has never happened to me.)


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## ironpony (Jun 16, 2020)

Oh okay, I thought it was maybe a good idea if it's just one person doing the interview, because then the victim would feel more comfortable maybe?


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## Amnesiac (Jun 16, 2020)

Not necessarily. As a woman whose been victimized, the last place she's going to want to be, is locked in a little room with a male authority figure. A large-ish room, a larger table, and another female in the room, especially one not in uniform, are things that can make the victim feel a little more at ease. Bearing in mind, such facilities aren't always available, particularly in smaller towns or places that are massively busy.


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## ironpony (Jun 16, 2020)

Oh okay, but wouldn't she feel comfortable if it was just a female, and then the female just turns over the interview recording and notes, to the other investigators later then?  That way there is no males, if that makes it better?  Or the male detective still has to be there, because he would want to ask questions himself rather than turn all the note over to her?  But if so, isn't it better that the female, still do the talking?


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## luckyscars (Jun 19, 2020)

ironpony said:


> Oh okay, but wouldn't she feel comfortable if it was just a female, and then the female just turns over the interview recording and notes, to the other investigators later then?  That way there is no males, if that makes it better?  Or the male detective still has to be there, because he would want to ask questions himself rather than turn all the note over to her?  But if so, isn't it better that the female, still do the talking?



So now you're asking for speculation on how comfortable an imaginary woman would be? Lordy.

The Police Department is going to interview people according to what is most likely to obtain useful and court admissible information fastest and to the greatest extent of reliability and within their available resources. 

Various laws do exist regarding the handling of minors, which Amnesiac already mentioned, and there are often internal policies and procedures regarding questioning of suspects who are intoxicated or mentally ill (some departments may allow a medical professional to be present, for example) because obtaining information while the suspect or victim is not competent may lead to problems in the courtroom. 

But _generally speaking _if the person being interviewed consents to being questioned and waives their right to having an attorney present then its up to the detective(s) how they proceed with the interview. If they feel it would be better to have two burly guys do it, two burly guys do it. If they feel she would be more amenable to a woman, they do that. It's their show. And your story is your show.


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## ironpony (Jun 19, 2020)

Oh okay thanks.  Well in my story, the person being interviewed is the victim of a crime, so would the police be asking a victim if she would like to waive her rights to a lawyer?


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## luckyscars (Jun 19, 2020)

ironpony said:


> Oh okay thanks.  Well in my story, the person being interviewed is the victim of a crime, so would the police be asking a victim if she would like to waive her rights to a lawyer?



You mean... Miranda Rights? Those only need to be stated if the individual is being taken into custody. If your person of interest is the victim of a crime she would not be in custody and the interview in question would be entirely voluntary on her part -- a conversation, if you will -- and therefore there would be no need for the police to ask that question. Of course, no interaction with the police is immune from self-incrimination and apparent victims often do turn into suspects of some kind of another so a smart person would never speak to the police regarding any incident at any level of detail without invoking the right to an attorney being present. But that would be her choice. Plenty/most people do talk to the police without a lawyer, especially if they genuinely do have nothing to hide. You don't need to decline an attorney to waive your right to one, you just need to fail to keep your gob closed.


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## ironpony (Jun 19, 2020)

Oh okay, I meant whatever you were referring to, when you said wave their rights to an attorney, if you were talking about Miranda rights.  What if in my scenario, the victim was not being cooperative, and the police have to tell her they will subpoena her to testify if she doesn't make a statement.  Would she be advised to get an attorney then, if they are compelling to give on, to avoid being subpoenaed later?


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## luckyscars (Jun 19, 2020)

ironpony said:


> What if in my scenario, the victim was not being cooperative, and the police have to tell her they will subpoena her to testify if she doesn't make a statement.  Would she be advised to get an attorney then, if they are compelling to give on, to avoid being subpoenaed later?



Borders on non sequitur. Why would the victim not being cooperative and a subpoena...lead to the police advising the victim to get an attorney? Attorneys don't lead to people being more cooperative, unless it's a plea bargain. Fail to see the relevancy if you're talking about a _victim _​of crime. Do you know what a subpoena is?


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## ironpony (Jun 19, 2020)

Yeah I know what a subpoena is.  I was just asking if they would advise her to get an attorney, if it's the legal thing to, when being subpoenaed, but I wasn't sure.


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## luckyscars (Jun 20, 2020)

ironpony said:


> Yeah I know what a subpoena is.  I was just asking if they would advise her to get an attorney, if it's the legal thing to, when being subpoenaed, but I wasn't sure.



If you know what a subpoena is, then you should know the police don't issue subpoenas.

Subpoenas come from the court. They don't 'advise' anything other than what date/time you are expected to be at the courthouse. 

Nobody is going to 'advise her' to get an attorney as part of their job.


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## Xander416 (Jun 20, 2020)

Amnesiac said:


> Not every department _has_ female officers. In such interviews, I've done them, but never in a closed space where the two of us are alone, and if I can get a woman from Family Advocacy or DCS (Dept of Child Services), it's better. Still and all, if I'm investigating the crime, there's no way I'm just turning it over to someone else unless there is an exceedingly compelling reason. (i.e. victim is underage, or I'm too close to becoming emotional, although the latter has never happened to me.)


Wouldn't individual department policy in cases like this differ, too?


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## ironpony (Jun 21, 2020)

luckyscars said:


> If you know what a subpoena is, then you should know the police don't issue subpoenas.
> 
> Subpoenas come from the court. They don't 'advise' anything other than what date/time you are expected to be at the courthouse.
> 
> Nobody is going to 'advise her' to get an attorney as part of their job.



Oh yes, I know that courts normally issue subpoenas, but instead of going to court and face all those questions and grueling, wouldn't she just rather give a statement at the station instead of waiting for court?  Why wait till court, instead of just wanting to get it over with, and then see what happens?


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