Criminal investigation IP5

Sexual Assault

Criminal Investigation IP5

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Criminal Investigation IP5

Sexual Assault Laws

Rape is a crime where a victim is forcibly made to engage in sexual intercourse. In the state of Mississippi rape by force is a felony codified under the crime of sexual battery. In the state of Mississippi force is not necessary just the threat or failure to give consent if the victim is mentally disabled. It is also considered sexual battery in the state of Mississippi is an adult over the age of 18 has sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 14. If a person is charged and found guilty of sexual battery they face a prison sentence of up the thirty years while an adult charged with sexual battery on a child will receive up to a twenty year prison.

Mississippi has a different statute for statutory rape. Statutory rape is another type of rape where a person over the age of eighteen has sexual intercourse with someone the age of 16 or younger but no younger than the age of 14. In Mississippi the age of consent is sixteen (Mince-Didier, 2008). If anyone over the age of eighteen has sex with someone under the age of consent they will be subject to statutory charges. Even if a eighteen years old is “dating” the minor, the minor cannot give consent to engage in sexual activity with an adult. In the state of Mississippi if an adult is found guilty of statutory rape with a minor between the ages of 14-16 they face up to twenty years in prison.

The only differentiation between the sexual battery and statutory rape charges is the age of the victim. When a person in Mississippi is under the age of sixteen they cannot give consent to engage in sexual activity. If an adult has sexual intercourse with someone under the age of fourteen they will face a different charge even if the child gave their consent. Adults engaging in sexual activity with a minor under the age of 14 are charged with sexual battery. Sexual battery between two adults is considered rape and will result in a felony charge and a harsh prison sentence is the criminal defendant is found guilty.

If the victim were 14 years old, the suspect were 17 years old, and the sex was consensual it would not be considered statutory rape in the state of Mississippi. In order to be charged with statutory rape, the offender must be at least eighteen years old. A seventeen year old is not considered an adult in Mississippi even if the juvenile is not old enough to consent. In fact if a person is over the age of 21 and engages in sexual activity with a child ages 14-16, they will face a longer prison sentence than someone ages 18-21 (Mince-Didier, 2008). A 17 year old will not be charged with statutory rape if engaging in a consensual relationship with the 14 years old.

If the victim were 14, the suspect were 17, and the rape were forced the criminal suspect will be charged with forcible rape as a minor unless the prosecutor request the suspect be charged as an adult. If the 17 year old is charged as an adult they will be subject to the adult sexual battery charges and if found guilty can face up to a thirty year prison sentence. If charged as a minor they will be subject to the juvenile justice system.

In the scenario a 14 year old girl is claiming to have had consensual intercourse with an adult male at a hotel and the adult male has admitted to the relationship he would be immediately arrested and charged with sexual battery. In this case the criminal suspect, Jose Torres is 35 years of age. In order for a crime to be considered statutory the offender must be from the ages of 18 to the age of 21. Torres would be charged with sexual battery and would be subject to up to thirty years in jail if found guilty. All sexual offenders found guilty of a sexual crime including statutory rape and sexual battery are required to register on the states sex offender registry once they have served their prison sentence.

Work Stress

Police work is highly stressful. They are confronted with all types of danger and go through all different types of traumatic experiences. In order to deal with the stress associated with the job police need to apply stress-relieving techniques to minimize the impact of the stress of the investigation. The first technique is to always get a good night’s sleep. When an investigator has not gotten enough sleep their level of stress can increase. Having time to rest up and take a break from the stress will help the investigator relieve the stress at least for as long as they are away from work.

Another stress-relieving technique police can apply to their stressful jobs is known as Rx3x.  The prescription (Rx) is for stress management activities three times (3x) a day which includes 30-45 minutes of physical fitness aerobics or exercise every day, buffer workout for stress reduction (Wimberger, 2011). Next the police investigator would do a buffer workout between work and returning home followed by engaging in a 20 to thirty minutes of stress relief management. This could include sitting quietly and meditating or engaging in breathing techniques. Following the Rx3x the investigator could relieve stress.

When a police officer experience stress at the crime scene it can affect their ability to conduct a criminal investigation. Police under too much stress could miss clues or important pieces of evidence which could impact the outcome of the investigation. Stress can alter how the investigator thinks and cause difficulty in concentrating. The more a police officer understands about stress and the effect it can have on the body the better equipped they will be to be effective in their role of investigator at the crime scene. When a police officer is affected by stress the investigation could suffer.

When a police officer is experiencing extreme stress the police department can take steps to provide outlets for the police officer to relieve this stress. The police department can provide police officers with counseling services that give them a pace to talk through their stress as well as provide police with different stress relieving techniques that will help them reduce the experiences of stress they experience will in the field. Police officers commit a high number of suicides which need to be addressed through support from the police department (Brown, 2006). The trauma police experience at a crime scene can impact every aspect of their lives including their job.

If a police officer is under a great deal of stress the police officers supervisor should offer them the opportunity to take a few vacation days plus introduce them to the potential stress relieving techniques they can apply. The department can also instruct the stressed police officer to seek out counseling or to take time off until the feelings of stress have subsided. There are many beneficial techniques the department can suggest to help the investigator relieve stress. The department can only force the police officer to seek out the assistance of a counselor if the police officer has experienced a trauma.

Many police departments require the police officer to see a counselor to address the trauma before they are allowed to return to work. Police officer stress can lead to tragic results if not properly addressed. Police officers exposed to traumatic crime scene and stressful crime situations will be far more likely to become substance abusers or to commit suicide than officers that take steps to relieve the stress (Brown, 2006). The criminal investigators job is to solve the crime but if they are stressed they will be less effective.

References

Brown, R. (2006). Stress Management Real Life Story - First Responders Get Help Dealing With

Stress. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from

http://www.criticalincidentstress.com/help_for_first_responders

England, D. (2011). What is Sexual Battery in Mississippi? Retrieved August 8, 2014 from

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/sex-crimes/mississippi

Mince-Didier, A. (2008).Mississippi Statutory Rape Laws. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/mississippi-statutory-rape-laws.htm

Wimberger, L. (2011). A Stress Management Prescription for Law Enforcement and Police

Officers. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from

http://www.copsalive.com/a-stress-management-prescription-for-law-enforcement/