Campus Police Rape Investigations Tier 1: Initial Response and Investigative Foundations

Campus Police Criminal Investigations Track

Campus Police Rape Investigations Tier 1: Initial Response and Investigative Foundations

First Response, Medical-Forensic Considerations, and Investigative Planning

Class Description

The initial response to a report of rape can significantly affect the direction and effectiveness of a criminal investigation. Campus police must recognize potential criminal offenses, address safety and medical needs, preserve time-sensitive evidence, and begin investigations involving individuals who often know one another.

This course provides essential knowledge and practical strategies for responding to and beginning investigations in higher education. Participants examine applicable criminal elements, consent, force, coercion, incapacitation, non-stranger rape, delayed reporting, and alcohol- or drug-related incidents occurring both on and off campus.

Instruction emphasizes trauma-informed initial response practices that support communication and information gathering while preserving investigative neutrality. Participants consider how trauma, stress, intoxication, and other circumstances may affect disclosure without assuming particular behaviors prove or disprove an assault.

Special attention is given to physical, forensic, testimonial, and digital evidence, including electronic communications, surveillance footage, location records, and other information at risk of loss. The course also examines forensic examinations, jurisdictional questions, investigative planning, and appropriate coordination with Title IX and Clery personnel without confusing administrative and criminal processes.

Realistic campus scenarios require participants to prioritize investigative steps and organize a criminal investigation from the first report.

Topics Covered

• Criminal elements of rape, consent, force, coercion, and incapacitation
• Initial response, trauma-informed communication, and victim safety
• Medical-forensic examinations, crime scene considerations, and evidence preservation
• Time-sensitive physical, forensic, testimonial, and digital evidence
• Delayed reporting, non-stranger rape, and jurisdictional challenges
• Investigative planning and coordination with campus and criminal justice partners

Learning Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1. Identify relevant criminal elements and jurisdictional considerations when responding to rape allegations.
2. Apply trauma-informed initial response practices that address safety, medical needs, communication, and neutrality.
3. Identify and prioritize preservation of physical, forensic, digital, and testimonial evidence.
4. Explain the police role in medical-forensic coordination and the limitations of forensic findings.
5. Develop an initial investigative strategy identifying offenses, evidence, witnesses, priorities, and institutional coordination.

Who Should Attend

Sworn campus police officers, patrol officers, newly assigned detectives, criminal investigators, field training officers, sergeants, supervisors, and other personnel receiving reports of rape.

Recommended Experience Level: Foundational. Designed for patrol officers, new investigators, field training officers, and supervisors. No prior specialized rape investigation training is required. Experience levels are guidance rather than prerequisites.

Certification

Attendees of this class will receive a certificate of completion from D. Stafford & Associates. Certification verifies attendance at this class and can serve as an institution’s documentation that the attendee has received Campus Police Rape Investigation-Tier 1 training.

Faculty

This training program will feature an expert faculty member who has served as a sworn police investigator on college and university campuses and has more than 25 years of experience and expertise in managing rape investigations for institutions of Higher Education.

Logistics

This class is a 4-hour class (with time built in for breaks).

Virtual Classes: This live, virtual class will be held:

• from 12:00 pm – 4:30 pm Eastern Time.

Additional logistics are available when clicking the “Class Details & Registration” button for a specific class. (Note: clicking the “Class Details & Registration” button will not automatically register attendees for this class. There is an additional registration button that attendees must click to register at the bottom of the logistics page to complete the registration process).

This class is not currently offered in an in‑person format. To explore bringing this class to your campus, please contact dolores@dstaffordandassociates.com for a scope of work.

Save $200 with the optional four-course rape investigation bundle (Tiers 1–4). If a course is dropped from the bundle, the remaining courses are billed at the full $490 each.