The Force - Crystal Unit

Episode two of channel four's documentary series The Force portrayed the efforts of Crystal Unit, Portsmouth's dedicated rape investigation team, in their investigation of several rape cases.

Crystal Unit is the only dedicated rape unit outside of London, and the programme shows the initial six-month pilot study of the squad. Due to the time period The Force does not show any cases that have gone to trial, and nor does it deal with the victim support side of policework. This is a disappointment; although clearly victim confidentiality needs to be protected, more time with the victim support workers would have shown a different side to the investigations, which were notably absent of any victim input after the initial report. The one exception to this was the young woman who withdrew her rape claim despite a high level of evidence; the victim support worker advocated for her side, stating he couldn't make her talk to the police.

But Crystal Unit's efforts can only work with the crimes reported; there were no efforts mentioned to encourage rape victims to come forward, or to raise awareness of domestic and marital rape. If the police do not run campaigns against these sorts of crimes, who is supposed to?

Although the programme showed several investigations, the primary focus was of a woman who woke up in a hotel room with several men she didn't know. It is clear to see why this investigation was chosen: as the women did not know the suspects, the detectives had to gain information from the hotel about booking arrangements and identities, as well as investigating the noise complaint made about the room the woman woke up in. There was a level of suspense as one suspect was on holiday and could not be questioned straight away - he was arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. But what sort of message does it send that the major feature of a documentary about rape investigation chooses a case which concludes with the victim having lied to the police and no crime was found to have occurred? As the initial narration places the Crystal Unit's existence in a wider context of disbelief about rape, do the programme makers not think this refers to them?

It is concerning that a documentary dealing with such an emotive subject should be considered entertainment. Yet this case, with the way it builds to what seems like a serious crime and then suddenly twists into a surprisingly benign reality, has clearly been placed to be as gripping as possible. It was unnecessary to show so much investigation footage when the makers knew it would amount to nothing.

The Force shines when it focuses on the bureaucracy of the police force: Crystal unit is a trial run, but it is already in danger when a low reportage rate leaves their detectives inactive for 49% of the time. The higher-ups get restless, and questions are raised not about how successful Crystal Unit is, but how cost-effective. The decision was made to close the unit - this was then reversed on the last day of operations, but with only 50% of the detectives remaining. Previously Crystal Unit were shown to be struggling with their workload under the initial staffing levels.