Summary

No one wants to be robbed at gunpoint, or have his car stolen, or his house robbed. When these crimes happen, victims may feel angry, afraid, or violated. But there is no violation quite so devastating as sexual assault. Victims do not recover easily--either emotionally, psychologically, or physically from such incidents, and the long-term impact can have devastating effects on the victims, their families, and communities. Investigating sexually based crimes is particularly difficult for many reasons. Often the collection of evidence requires a medical examination of the victim--a second violation of sorts. Police must interview the victim, who must recount his or her assault. Often, the victims are children, and offenders range from family members to perfect strangers. But investigating and prosecuting these crimes is crucial to the healing process of many victims, and to the safety of society at large.

Detective Snow takes readers on a tour of the ways in which the police investigate and help prosecute such crimes. Each chapter begins with a real-life incident and throughout the book real stories are used to illustrate each step in the process. Snow addresses the processing of the crime scene, the collection of evidence, the development of suspects, the questioning of witnesses and perpetrators, and the preparation for trial. Few members of the public have any idea how complex and delicate the investigation of sex crimes really is. This book sheds light on this important police work and helps readers understand how these crimes are investigated, solved, and prosecuted. Victims and their families will especially benefit from the information in this book, but all readers will gain insight into the crimes, their incidence, their impact on victims, and the way the criminal justice system responds, from the scene of the crime through the capture and incarceration of the perpetrators.