Rape case research flawed, says top garda

RESEARCH which found that most gardaí doubt whether victims of rape have actually been assaulted is fundamentally flawed and extremely damaging, a senior garda said yesterday.

Detective Inspector Michael Kelleher, from Anglesea Street Garda Station in Cork, warned that rape victims who read the reports would be less likely to report the crime than ever.

He questioned the validity of basing facts and figures about the force on just 33 interviews with gardaí when there are more than 12,000 members.