The New Zealand police are saying that far too many young women are being raped whilst so intoxicated that they cannot recall who, what, when, or how. These cases, whilst on the balance of probabilities genuine, are very difficult to prosecute successfully. This, from the NZ Herald:
Police are having to shelve sexual assault complaints because witnesses are too drunk to remember the details. In Waikato alone, up to five complaints of sexual assaults are recorded each week, usually from women aged between 16 and 30, but many can not be acted on because of the high intoxication of people involved.What are the lessons? The first is to recognise the limitations of police, state, and judicial powers.
The problem also exists at another of the country's busiest police stations, Auckland Central.
Police cannot take a case to court without clear evidence. But some complainants were so drunk that officers' investigations - costly in police time and resources - were left in in limbo. "Sometimes it is so bad that they can't remember anything, nothing at all about the sexual assault," Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greene of Hamilton told the Weekend Herald. "But they know they have been assaulted. It's also rare that someone walks in here and it's not genuine."
