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

Abstract

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 ambiguous) 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, confidence in case approvals decreased after working in the field. Implications for police training programs are discussed.

Focal Concerns and Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…While our primary goal was to “take stock” of focal concerns and its application to police decisions in sexual assault cases, our findings are well suited to inform policy aimed at improving police response to victims. Past research has shown that sexual assault training courses can be effective at producing positive outcomes among law enforcement, such as reduced attributions of blame toward victims (Darwinkel et al, 2013; Tidmarsh et al, 2020), reduced rape myth acceptance (B. Campbell et al, 2019; Murphy & Hine, 2019; Rich & Seffrin, 2012), and improved knowledge of trauma-informed investigative techniques (B.…”

Do Impulsivity and Education Moderate the Effectiveness of Police Sexual Assault Investigations Training? Findings From a Solomon Four-Group Quasi-Experiment

“…For example, Lonsway and colleagues’ (2001) evaluation of a 3.5-hr training program indicated an initial increase in knowledge of trauma-informed responses; however, these effects were not sustained in a follow-up assessment conducted several weeks after the training program concluded. Conversely, Tidmarsh and colleagues’ (2020) assessment of a 96-hr program detected significant improvements in officers’ assessments of victim blame both immediately after receiving training and in a survey collected during a 9- to 12-month follow-up period. Second, most research assessing the impact of training on officers’ perceptions and knowledge have not employed experimental designs (Sleath & Bull, 2017), limiting the ability to determine causality.…”

“…Although findings from prior evaluations are mixed, some scholars have argued that these divergent findings may result from differences in training length and content (see Murphy & Hine, 2019). Based on prior research suggesting that longer training programs may be more effective (Lonsway et al, 2001; Tidmarsh et al, 2020), the length of the KYDOCJT program may have produced a larger effect on officer perceptions and knowledge. In Kentucky, law enforcement officers are required to complete 40 hr of continuing education each year.…”

“…Finally, some experimental evaluations of sexual assault training have demonstrated that training can improve officers’ short- (Lonsway et al, 2001) and long-term knowledge of trauma-informed investigative techniques (B. A. Campbell et al, 2020) and perceptions of victims (Tidmarsh et al, 2020).…”

“…Different outcomes across studies may be caused by variation in study design, as some evaluations did not use experimental designs (Ask, 2010; Lee et al, 2012), while others employ pre/posttest experiments that may suffer threats to internal validity in the form of pretesting effects (Solomon, 1949). Outcomes may also be influenced by course length and content, with findings suggesting that longer programs yield better outcomes (Tidmarsh et al, 2020).…”