The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba, says prosecutors sometimes find it difficult to successfully prosecute rape and other sexual assault cases because of the mistakes of victims.
He said that many victims unwittingly destroy evidence needed by investigators to build a case.
Mba disclosed this during the UN Spotlight Initiative Town Hall on Violence Against Women.
The FPRO said, “In every case of rape, there are fundamentally two scenes of crime – the body of the woman that has been raped as well as the physical location where this assault took place.
“These two scenes of crime must be preserved. Once we fail in preserving them, we run into fundamental problems with the investigations.”
Mba also emphasised the importance of preserving the physical setting where the incident took place.
“It is also important that you maintain the physical scene of crime. Do not tamper with anything, do not try to make the bed, don’t dispose the condom if the person used condom while sexually assaulting you.
“If you suspect you were drugged or your drink was laced with any substance, please do not dispose the remnant of the drink whether it is yogurt, Ribena, coke or wine.
“Leave those things for us. When we come, we know how to pick them up no matter how disorganised the room is,” the police spokesman stated.
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