Cleveland Police has said it is committed to catching perpetrators of sexual abuse and rape after concern over poor outcomes for victims.
The force said more charges had been brought in a number of cases, which had upped its charge rate up to 6.5%, and described how it was “transforming” its approach to rape investigations and prosecutions.
A recent Freedom of Information enquiry submitted and answered by the force revealed the charge rate was just 4% in the 12 months to last September.
The charge rate is the percentage of reported crimes that result in a charge, although police sometimes take into account other “positive outcomes” which do not result in court, for example interventions to remove a child or person from harm, which results in the closure of an investigation.
The 4% figure was calculated from the number of reported offences over the period- 2,688 – comprising 1,701 sexual offences and 981 rape offences, and the number of offences charged (109).
The majority of victims were aged under 18.
Sexual abuse claims specialist Ellie Lamey, of Sexual Abuse Compensation Advice, which compiled the FOI, said while there will be cases that may be still under investigation or where some other resolution has been reached, the figure was “staggeringly low”.
Meanwhile, a separate quarterly performance report issued by Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey revealed the charge rate to be even lower at 3.6% over the 12 month period to March last year.
It was one of the few categories where the force was lagging behind national averages, albeit charging outcomes for sexual offences are historically low due to a number of factors including the lack of physical evidence, victims withdrawing support for a prosecution and specialist resource constraints.
Cleveland Police told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that in relation to the 2,688 offences recorded in the 12 months to last September there had now been a total of 176 charges, an increase of 67, making the charge rate 6.5%.
This was because there were a number of sexual offences still under investigation when the data was extracted.
It said sexual offences were recorded even when a report had been made by a third party or other agencies and figures included “non-recent” crimes where the victim had come forward years later.
The force also advised that 30% of sexual offences recorded against children were computer, or ‘cyber’ related.
Cleveland Police is taking part in Operation Soteria, a national programme that aims to improve how forces respond to rape and sexual offences.
It uses intelligence, analysis and digital forensics in a bid to improve outcomes for victims with a “victim centred” culture embedded within it.
Superintendent Helen Barker, who is leading the force’s work in this area, said support being offered had been improved, while “putting the focus on suspects”.
She said: “We remain committed to apprehending offenders and bringing them to justice as we know these crimes can have a lasting impact on victims.
“Towards the end of last year we held a violence against women and girls-focused operation which saw 18 arrests and we will continue to carry out such enforcement.
“To date 142 Cleveland Police officers have completed rape and serious sexual offences investigative skills development programme training, which will further equip our officers with the right knowledge and skills.
“Later this year the force is also planning on moving all rape offences into a central team which ensures all victims of this crime have one specific team for investigative opportunities.
“I’d like to reassure victims that you will be listened to and you will be believed.
“We will support you throughout the process with specially trained officers along with our partner agencies.
“Regardless of when it happened, please report any incidents to us on 101.
“You can also report incidents to us online via the Cleveland Police website.”
Ms Lamey added: “It is so important that victims know there is support available for them and not to be deterred or fearful of rejection.
“Victims should also be aware that they can report historical periods of abuse/assaults to the police, regardless of the amount of time that has passed.”
Figures from the Home Office show nearly 1.9m violent or sexual crimes in England and Wales were closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024.
Labour MP Jess Phillips, a Home Office safeguarding minister, previously said: “It is completely unacceptable that fewer and fewer violent and sexual crimes are being solved, with more victims being let down time and time again.
“The severity of these numbers prove why violence against women and girls is a national emergency and that is why we have set out our unprecedented mission to halve it in a decade.”
Follow the link for support: https://www.sexualabusecompensationadvice.org.uk/
