The article first describes the legal requirements for rape and then outlines the crucial elements in a rape case. The nature of a patrol officer's (first officer on the scene) interview of the victim and the subsequent detective's interview are then discussed. The discussion of the detective's interview covers rapport development with the victim, interview preparation, current questioning procedures, memory, and individual differences in rape victims and in rape investigators. Alternative interviewing methods addressed are hypnosis and the cognitive interview. The cognitive interview involves four techniques for the retrieval of information from a person's memory. The eyewitness is asked to return mentally to the scene of the crime and review everything about the scene and the people there. The subject is asked to report everything that comes to mind about the incident and the scene. The witness is then asked to recall the events in reverse order or in an order that progresses both forward and backward from a point in time. Finally, the subject is asked to recall the incident from a different perspective or from the perspective of others who were present. Special considerations in using this interview technique with rape victims are discussed. 17 references