The police investigation

After you report a sexual assault to police, your safety and wellbeing is our first priority. It’s important that you feel supported and not alone throughout this process. Sexual violence support services are available and we can help arrange this support for you if you wish. You can ask the officer who is helping you for a referral to a support agency. These agencies will contact you to ask what type or level of support you need and provide details on the services they offer.

This page outlines what happens when you tell police what happened to you and you want them to investigate it. If you do not want us to investigate it, you can use Alternative Reporting Option (ARO).

Initial steps of an investigation

The first steps of an investigation are to identify and gather evidence to support what you have reported. It is important we get a detailed idea of what happened and ensure that you are supported throughout this process.

It is likely your first contact with police will be with uniformed police. They will ask you some initial questions so they can find out the most appropriate people to refer your report to. You are welcome to bring a friend, family member or support person with you when you speak with us.
Officers will most likely ask you questions such as:

• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• Do you know the offender?

Sometimes we will ask these questions more than once. This is not because we don’t believe you – it is important that we make sure the information is accurate. We know it may not be easy and that you may not remember or know every detail of the assault. If you cannot remember something, that is okay – it may help you to think about and write down details such as:

• Where you were (location of the assault)
• What you were doing
• What the offender looked like and what they were wearing
• Any words said or conversation between you and the offender
• If the offender had a vehicle, what it looked like or what their number plate was
• Any distinctive features of the offender or other information you think may be important.

If you write these things down, it may help to jog your memory later on.

During the investigation

Sexual violence, rape, and sexual assault offences are generally conducted by investigators called plain clothes officers or detectives.

Investigators will ask questions about you, your actions and circumstances leading up to and after the assault. They also might need to ask you about:

• The location of the assault
• Details of witnesses
• Details of the offender
• Alcohol/drug usage
• Recent sexual activity (investigators may ask you this to help us rule out any recent sexual activity that may have been consensual)

We know these questions are of a personal nature and that some questions can be difficult to answer. We do not ask them to embarrass or humiliate you – we need this information to help the investigation.

Making a statement

After you have told police about the assault, you will be asked to make a statement to record what happened to you.
This statement will usually be type-written, but may be audio or video recorded. If you need a translator or an interpreter (including people who are hearing impaired), the police will arrange this for you.

We want to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible when you speak with us. Giving a statement can be difficult, but you can take breaks whenever you need and can ask to stop at any time. Just like when you first spoke with police, you are welcome to bring a friend, family member, or other support person when you provide your statement. If the person you decide to bring is a witness to the assault (this may include if you have spoken about the assault with them before speaking with police), police may need to speak with them about what happened, and they may need to provide a statement. We refer to this person as a preliminary witness. Unfortunately, this means that they cannot sit with you while you provide your statement, but you can choose a different person to be with you. If you are not sure whether someone can be your support person, police can help you determine this.

If it would be helpful to you, you can prepare a written account of the events before you speak to police. This may help you when you provide your formal statement with police. In some circumstances, you may be able to provide the formal statement in a place other than a police station, such as your home or a counsellor’s office. Please speak with police to see if this option is viable for you. 

Subsequent steps of the investigation and the court process

If the offender(s) are positively identified, we will ask them if they would like to be interviewed. They can say yes or no – if they agree to an interview, we will talk to them about the allegations. If an offender does not want to speak with police, they do not have to talk to us or answer any questions.

Police must gather all possible evidence so that the ‘Sufficiency of Evidence’ test can be met. This test determines whether the evidence gathered supports the victim-survivor’s version to a required standard for the matter to go to court. More information can be found on the sufficiency of evidence in the Director of Public Prosecutions guidelines.

The investigator will update you on how the investigation is going and if the matter goes to court, they will guide you through the court process. During this process, you have choices and support is available. You can find detailed information about what to expect from the court process through the Office of the Victim’s Commissioner’s Victim Pathway guide.

There are protective measures in place for victim-survivors. Your personal details, including your home address and contact numbers should never be provided to the offender. If the offender is known to you personally, police may ask for the court to place bail conditions on the offender to protect you and ensure your safety. There are also measures that can protect you in court, like giving evidence in a separate room from the offender. These are measures the police have to ask the court for and the investigating officer can tell you more about them.