Up to one in three reported rapes are being written off by the police, according to a new report which uncovered “stark differences” in the way forces deal with the crime.
Officials from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said some forces may have a “culture of disbelief” which has a negative impact on the way they treat rape victims.
The research exposed huge variations in the number of rapes which police decide to designate as “no crime”, meaning they are declassified because officers believe a crime did not take place.
One force, Lincolnshire, discontinued investigations in 33 per cent of rapes which were reported by alleged victims, and Leicestershire dropped 29 per cent, compared with a 12 per cent national average and less than 5 per cent in Cumbria and Durham.
Dru Sharpling, of HMIC, said: “There is a stark difference in the no crime rates. We would expect no crime rates to be relatively low.
Related ArticlesRape claims 'ignored by police to hit targets'
28 Feb 2012Rapists and other violent criminals let off with a 'slap on the wrist'
06 Jan 2013Rape conviction rate figures 'misleading'
15 Mar 2010“There may be justifiable reasons for this but it is our intention to highlight these differences so that questions can be asked of local forces by police and crime commissioners and the public.”
Asked whether some forces suffered from a “culture of disbelief”, Miss Sharpling said: “I think there is something around that because all our work that we have done in a previous report on Jimmy Savile
View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment