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Art of Interrogating Rapists

NCJ Number
153162
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 64 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1995) Pages: 8-12
Author(s)
W F Merrill
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article outlines methods police investigators can use when interrogating two general categories of rapists, contact rapists and sexual aggressor rapists.
Abstract
Contact rapists, who generally know their victims either through casual or business relationships, often view men and women in traditional social roles. Contact rapists are not conspicuously deviant in either personality or sexuality; their primary motivation is a desire for sexual conquest. Some techniques to obtain confessions from suspects believed to be contact rapists include establishing rapport with them, blaming the victim, minimizing the moral seriousness of the crime, and taking a "common man" approach. Sexual aggressor rapists, on the other hand, are characterized by greater aggression, lack of inhibition, impulsiveness, and antisocial behavior than contact rapists; they generally do not know their victims, but are motivated by a desire for power and control over women. When interrogating sexual aggressor rapists, the investigator must tailor his techniques to one of three dominant personality types, i.e., power reassurance rapist, power assertive rapist, and anger retaliatory rapist. 21 notes