It’s an absolute shambles’
Police officers’ views on institutional challenges in policing rape and serious sex offences in England and Wales
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12363537 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Gekoski (0000-0003-1269-4073, Bournemouth University, corresponding author), Kari Davies (0000-0003-1782-7437, Bournemouth University), Miranda A H Horvath (0000-0003-4363-4575, Institute for Social Justice & Crime, University of Suffolk) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-28 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Policing & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1043-9463 • E-ISSN: 1477-2728 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10439463.2026.2651198 |
| OpenAlex | W7142036751 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
Recent reviews and research into the efficacy of rape and serious sex offence investigations have found myriad institutional issues in policing that require urgent improvement. To explore this area further, 50 semi-structured interviews were conducted with police officers across four forces in England and Wales. The interview data were qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified related to institutional challenges: (1) staffing, including lack of resources and high workloads, inexperienced staff, and supervision issues; (2) training, including a lack of specialist training, and inadequate systems training; and (3) technology, including lack of access to equipment/systems, and systems not being user-friendly. Of note in the findings is the complex interconnected nature of these challenges, and the consequences of this in terms of the need for broader, systemic change, rather than tackling each factor in isolation. The article discusses how institutional change will only be facilitated through a frank acceptance of the current issues seen within rape and serious sex offence (RASSO) policing and a concerted effort to enact change that values planning and reflection, as well as the allowance for collaborative and meaningful evaluation of such change. Drawing on insights from organisational attention theory, it also considered how competing organisational demands and resource constraints may shape which reform priorities receive sustained institutional focus.
Absolute (philosophy · Community policing · Criminal justice · Poison control · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
Attention to Attention
Complaints of rape and the criminal justice system
Police officer perspectives on the challenges of investigating sexual assault
Competing concepts of public value and legitimacy in the police
Caseloads, culture, and capacity
A lot of the time it’s dealing with victims who don’t want to know, it’s all made up, or they’ve got mental health’
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Using Numbers in Qualitative Research
| Highly cited | No |
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