Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Legal Information


Making A Statement If you decide to formally report the rape to the police, you will be required to make a detailed statement to the police about what happened to you. A police officer from SACAT who has been trained to deal sensitively with sexual assault investigations, will take your statement. Police women and men are both available to take your statement. The choice is yours. Where necessary the police will attend the actual scene of the crime and obtain details of the rape so that detectives may commence their investigation. The police will ask you to describe in your own words what happened and will ask you questions so no details are left out. It will help the investigation if you try to give as much detailed information as possible - even seemingly irrelevant details such as the weather, his clothing, exact order of events etc. It is your right to have a support person of your choice with you during this process, to advocate for you if necessary, someone who believes you and is aware of your feelings and your needs. You are the victim of a crime. You are not the guilty person and you are not under arrest, so you can make a phone call to anyone you wish and you should be able to leave the premises at any time. The statement usually takes at least four hours, and breaks for rest and refreshment are taken as a matter of course. You can also choose to give the bulk of the statement, go home and return the next day to complete it. The statement is a signed, typed record of details of events leading up to, during and after the rape. It will also contain your description of the rapist and any conversation that took place. You are then asked to sign this statement. It is important that you thoroughly read this statement before you sign it, as it will become primary evidence for the court case. It is also important to get a copy of your statement. Although you will not have to repeat your statement word for word in court, you will be expected to give a fairly similar account,where details and order of events will be important. You can add to your statement if you remember further details later on. The information in this statement will then be used by the police to investigate your complaint and, if someone is arrested, to take the case to court. A copy of your statement will be given to the defendant's lawyer. To Previous Page Page Last Updated 31/5/2001 © 2001 Canberra Rape Crisis Centre Best viewed in Microsoft Explorer 4 or Netscape 4

If you decide to formally report the rape to the police, you will be required to make a detailed statement to the police about what happened to you. A police officer from SACAT who has been trained to deal sensitively with sexual assault investigations, will take your statement.

Police women and men are both available to take your statement. The choice is yours. Where necessary the police will attend the actual scene of the crime and obtain details of the rape so that detectives may commence their investigation.

The police will ask you to describe in your own words what happened and will ask you questions so no details are left out. It will help the investigation if you try to give as much detailed information as possible - even seemingly irrelevant details such as the weather, his clothing, exact order of events etc. It is your right to have a support person of your choice with you during this process, to advocate for you if necessary, someone who believes you and is aware of your feelings and your needs.

You are the victim of a crime. You are not the guilty person and you are not under arrest, so you can make a phone call to anyone you wish and you should be able to leave the premises at any time. The statement usually takes at least four hours, and breaks for rest and refreshment are taken as a matter of course.

You can also choose to give the bulk of the statement, go home and return the next day to complete it. The statement is a signed, typed record of details of events leading up to, during and after the rape. It will also contain your description of the rapist and any conversation that took place.

You are then asked to sign this statement. It is important that you thoroughly read this statement before you sign it, as it will become primary evidence for the court case. It is also important to get a copy of your statement. Although you will not have to repeat your statement word for word in court, you will be expected to give a fairly similar account,where details and order of events will be important. You can add to your statement if you remember further details later on.

Picture of Reporting

The information in this statement will then be used by the police to investigate your complaint and, if someone is arrested, to take the case to court. A copy of your statement will be given to the defendant's lawyer.

Making A Statement