When documenting victim statements in a sexual assault case, what should the officer do?

In cases involving sexual assault, accurately documenting victim statements is critical for several reasons, especially given the sensitive nature of these crimes. Writing the statements word for word is essential because it preserves the victim's exact language, emotion, and context. This verbatim documentation helps to maintain the integrity of the victim's account and ensures that nuances, which may be important for legal proceedings, are not lost or misinterpreted.

Using the victim's exact words enables law enforcement to convey the victim's experience as they expressed it, which is crucial for understanding the trauma associated with the assault. Exact wording can also serve as valuable evidence in court, compared to a summarized version which might inadvertently alter the meaning or emotional impact of the statement.

While other approaches, such as summarizing or using general law enforcement language, could lead to misinterpretation or oversimplification of the victim's narrative, documenting statements exactly as they were made maintains fidelity to the victim's experience and upholds the standards of evidence gathering in sexual assault cases.