A new online tool to report rape, sexual assault and harassment has been launched by Cheshire (UK) Constabulary.
The online reporting form is located on the Constabulary’s website and helps to collect all the information officers need to launch a thorough investigation without the need for victims to initially relive their trauma.
It comes as the government’s recent release of the local criminal justice scorecards with a focus on police response to rape and sexual violence highlighted Cheshire as having the second highest rate nationally for charging rape suspects.
“We know that when people are subjected to such harrowing experiences, it can be extremely difficult for them to voice what has happened,” said Chief Constable Mark Roberts. “That’s why this online reporting tool is so important. We’ve already had some really positive feedback from people who have used this facility who have told us that they could never have spoken about this face to face or over the phone with anyone, and that having this online option gave them the confidence to make a report.”
Latest figures show that Cheshire is performing well when it comes to securing these charges. Data for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 showed that Cheshire has a 6.6% success rate against a national average of 3.6%. Only Durham Constabulary outperforms Cheshire in this respect, with a success rate of 8.2%.
This performance is bolstered by number of initiatives, from introducing video streaming and location tracking platform GoodSAM, to rolling out kiosks in police stations and custody suites that download specific phone data from rape victims without them having to give up their phone for weeks.
GoodSAM Instant Help software supports vulnerable people, especially in incidents of violence or intimidation against women, and enables police to deliver justice for victims not only swiftly but also to capture real-time evidence that can be used in court.
Since last year, the Constabulary has deployed a team of uniformed and specially trained plain clothed officers to identify and tackle anyone who may be displaying predatory behaviors such as harassment, loitering without reason and stalking behavior in key areas across the county.
“We have invested in data extraction kiosks– cutting the time it takes our investigators to receive this often vital evidence to just hours instead of weeks, and we’ll soon be introducing a mobile digital forensic unit– an unmarked van which will discreetly attend the homes of victims or crime scenes to enable officers to extract required data from digital devices,” said Roberts. “It is our mission to make the county a hostile environment to anyone who thinks they can cause harm– especially to women.”
The new reporting tool for rape and other sexual offences can be found on the department’s website at Report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences.
“I’m encouraged that for securing charges in serious sexual offence cases, Cheshire is one of the best performing in the country, but the reality is that the figures are still nowhere near where they should be and we are committed to improving them further for victims,” Roberts said.
Republished courtesy of Cheshire (UK) Constabulary.