ASSERTIVE SPEECH ACT OF POLICE INVESTIGATOR’S IN INTERVIEWING THE WITNESS-VICTIM OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Abstract

The issue of proving cases of Sexual Violence Crime (SVC), also known as Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual (TPKS), remains a challenging endeavor. Police investigators must employ a range of tactics in order to uncover the truth around a case of sexual violence. The objective of this study is to examine speech act tactics, specifically aggressive speech acts employed by police investigators during the process of interviewing a witness who has experienced sexual violence. The same interview was investigated in separate studies undertaken by Read et al. (2009), Westera et al. (2011), and Westera and Kebbel (2014). Nevertheless, prior scholarly investigations have mostly concentrated on the dynamics between law enforcement agents and those accused of sexual violence crimes. The present study constitutes an investigation in the field of forensic linguistics, with a specific emphasis on the examination of language usage within the context of legal procedures. The chosen methodology for this study is qualitative research. This study endeavors to analyze, investigate, and examine forceful statements made by law enforcement officers. The research data was collected through the observation of the interview procedure conducted by the Kepolisian Resor Kota (Polresta) Cilacap investigators with a witness who had experienced sexual violence. The acquired data was subsequently subjected to analysis utilizing Searle's (1979) theory of speech acts, with a particular focus on aggressive speech acts. The findings indicate that the police investigators employed aggressive speech patterns as a means to reinforce the information provided by the victim-witness. The reaffirmation is frequently conveyed by the use of a rhetorical tag, commonly referred to as "ya," appended to the end of the speech. Nevertheless, the assertive statement articulated by investigator H also exhibits elements of surprise, guides cognitive processes, and offers advice or suggestions.