Rapes labelled as ‘no crimes’ to be reviewed by Warwickshire Police

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has published a report showing that one in five crimes reported across the country are not being reported by officers - with 26 per cent of sexual offences going unrecorded. The inspectorate examined the period between November 1 2012 and October 31 2013.

And now, in response to the findings, police in Warwickshire will look again at reports of rape labelled as “no crime” in the past four years.

Assistant Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “We take on board the HMIC’s recommendations from the Review and have already implemented many of them. For example, further training has been provided to officers and staff involved in making ‘no crime’ decisions.

“We are in no way complacent and areas we still need to work on include detecting crimes of rape and we are addressing that immediately.

“HMIC found in most instances officers receiving reports of rape and other sexual offences had promptly taken responsibility and had ensured that a crime was recorded and that the victim received the appropriate care.

“However, Warwickshire Police will be auditing the reports of rape made to the force in the last five years between 2010 to 2014 where they were no-crimed.”

ACC Blakeman added: “This is a much wider period of time than the HMIC looked at, but we are reviewing these records not only to ensure compliance with National Crime Recording Standards and Home Office Counting Rules but to ensure we have achieved the best result for victims.

“We want to make it clear that we will put victims first, even if this means an increase in the number of crimes recorded.”

Ron Ball, Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire said: “Today’s report makes some very positive observations around the attitudes of staff at Warwickshire Police, and it is clear that there is no pressure to under report or incorrectly report crime.

“However, there are important lessons to be learned, and I would expect the Force to address these as a matter of urgency. As part of this work, we will be reviewing 63 historic cases of rape classed as ‘no-crimes’ over the past five years, and this is something that I will take forward with the Force.

“It is vital for the public to have full confidence in the work that the police do, and this can only be achieved when the needs of victims of crime are put first. I am proud of Warwickshire’s low crime rate, which is testament to the hard work of the Force.“