Forensic Psychology For Dummies (49 page)

• Does he put the event in context?

• Is irrelevant information offered?

• Does his account have an obvious chronological sequence?

• Were there unexpected complications?

• Is there possible corroboration, say from other people?

Style: How does the claimant communicate the information?

• Does he avoid answering?

• Are his answers consistent?

• Are his answers hesitant?

• How co-operative is he?

• How inquisitive is he about what he’s being asked?

• Does he spontaneously correct what he’s saying?

Discovering false allegations

Bringing a false allegation against a person is a particularly pernicious form of deception, especially when someone is accusing another person of a heinous crime such as sexual abuse or rape. Some evidence shows that false accusations of rape may occur in at least one out of every ten allegations.

In the case of rape, making a false allegation is quite a separate problem from determining whether consent to sexual activity took place. A false allegation is the dishonest claim that unwanted sexual activity occurred when there’s clear evidence that both parties consented to the activity or that the activity never took place at all.

Reasons for making false allegations of rape can be because the person is:

Looking for financial gain: for example, compensation.

Seeking to gain support from other people by being seen as a ‘victim’ who needs help.

Needing to
excuse inappropriate behaviour, such as getting drunk and having a fling that’s later regretted.

Hoping the authorities can change the person’s circumstances (one example may be when wanting to get different welfare housing).

Wanting to hurt or discredit a person or institution.

Creating difficulties in a relationship or as part of a job (as a form of blackmail).

Claiming false (as in recovered) memory (a topic I discuss in Chapter 4).

The major problem with rape investigations is that victims are often reluctant to come forward. A high proportion of rape victims never report that they have been sexually assaulted. They may fear that they will not be believed. Being aware that only a small minority of rape allegations are false helps the police to take all allegations seriously. In fact, in many jurisdictions, the police assume the allegation is true unless there is overwhelming evidence that it isn’t.

Tackling extortion

Extortion is illegally getting hold of money by compulsion. For example, a well-known company receives an anonymous letter threatening to poison the company’s products, unless money is paid or some other action taken. The threat can have a major impact on the company if any hint that the company is being threatened reaches the public. This situation falls under the category of
extortion
. Therefore, careful examination of the threatening communication is crucial in deciding what steps to take.

Fortunately, the majority of people writing threatening letters never follow through on their threats. Often the act of writing is just an expression of anger or frustration, malice or spite. Against that backdrop, the task is to detect the minority of letters indicating a real determination to put the threat into action.