ONS reveal dramatic rise in sexual offences reported to police

By The Press Association16th July 2015News EnglandChild Abuse, News England, Rape, Report, Sexual Abuse

Crime figures ‘lowest since 1981’ but police stats show sex offences increase.

Crime has fallen to its lowest level since 1981, according to the national victims’ survey, but police recorded crime showed significant increases in sexual offending cases, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The latest data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that there were 6.8 million crimes in 2014/15, down 7% on the last 12 months.

But sexual offences recorded by the police rose by 37%, with the numbers of rapes (29,265) and other sexual offences (58,954) being at the highest level since the introduction of the national crime recording standard 12 years ago.

The ONS said the rise was partly down to “a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes”.

The figures came as the Government confirmed the national police workforce dropped by more than 2,200 officers during the 12 months to March 31 2015.

The police data for recorded crime showed rape offences have risen by more than 100% in the past 10 years, while the biggest rise of all is interfering with motor vehicles, up 88% on the same period during the last financial year.

Public order offences are up by almost a fifth (19%).

There was also a 9% increase in fraud offences, largely driven by increases in non-investment fraud (up 15%) – a category which includes deceptions related to online shopping and computer software services, the ONS said.

Police figures showed a significant decrease in theft from a person (down 20% on the previous year), robbery of personal property (down 15%), and drug possession (down 15%).

They chime with data from the CSEW, which also showed decreases in theft from a person (down 21%) and other theft of personal property (down 22%).

The ONS said the 3% increase in police recorded crime was driven by increases in violence against the person offences (up by 23% compared with the previous year).

However, this increase is thought to reflect changes in recording practices rather than a rise in violent crime, the data analysts said.

Chief Constable Jeff Farrar, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for crime recording, said the crime figures were “encouraging” and praised victims who were “more willing to report crime to the police” than in previous years.

But he also said increases in some crimes were likely due to improved recording practices by officers.

He said: “A significant contributory factor to the increase in recorded crime is the 30% increase in records of violence without injury, and 37% rise in records of sexual offences.

“NPCC analysis with police forces suggests that increases are as a result of improved recording practices and greater victim confidence to report and do not indicate a marked rise in offending. For violent crime, there appears to be less than a 1% increase in calls to the police for service over the last year but a 23% rise in police recording.

“In addition to improved confidence, a significant number of reports of rape or sexual offences relate to offences committed over a year ago. The reporting of high profile cases such as Operation Yewtree is contributing to this rise.

“The crime reported in this survey only accounts for 22% of incoming calls to the police.

“A huge amount of work goes into areas such as complex public protection issues, cyber-crime and counter-terrorism – where the offences and their outcomes are not so easily recorded. Chief constables across the country are looking at ways to ensure that we can continue to meet the ever-changing demand that the service faces.”

Figures released from the Home Office today illustrate the impact budget cuts have had on police workforces under the coalition government.

As of the end of March 2010, the total police force for England and Wales was 244,497. David Cameron swept to power in May that year, and by the following March that number dipped to 233,255.

Today’s figures show there are just 207,140 police officers, staff and specials in England and Wales, a drop of 15% under the coalition. It means one-in-seven police jobs have been lost during the last five years.

It comes after a reduction of 20% since 2011 in the amount spent on police by the Home Office.

In March, Home Secretary Theresa May said there would be further cuts if the Conservatives won the election.

Today’s figures come as a Press Association investigation reveals police are dealing with their largest ever volume of revenge porn cases, following public campaigns to raise the profile of the cruel craze. It prompted a change in the law and new prosecution guidelines to get cases to court.

Mark Castle, chief executive of the independent charity Victim Support, said the increase in recorded sexual offences was a result of victims “making the brave decision to speak up and seek justice”.

He said: “It’s critical that the courage these victims have demonstrated is matched by a commitment from the criminal justice system to treat them with sensitivity, investigate their cases thoroughly and provide high quality support every step of the way.

“As a charity which has supported thousands of victims of knife crimes, we know how devastating these types of offences can be, particularly for young people and their families. After years of success in driving knife crime down, this rise is a worrying development and efforts to educate people about the dangers of carrying knives must be stepped up.”

An NSPCC spokesman said: “The increase in reports of sexual offences is encouraging but unhelpfully there’s no breakdown of how many victims were children. We need to consistently shine a spotlight on what is happening to children in 21st century Britain if we want to make them safer and we would challenge the police to be more transparent in this area.”

The children’s charity said its own analysis of police records showed one child-sex offence was being committed every 20 minutes in England and Wales.

The spokesman said: “In recent years there’s been a huge increase in awareness of child sexual abuse and it’s good that more people are coming forward. The NSPCC helpline has seen a huge rise in the number of victims willing to speak out.

“But it is very common for children who have been sexually abused to be silenced by fear and shame as a result of being manipulated by an abuser in a position of power or trust. Reports of sexual abuse to police are going to be the tip of the iceberg, with an estimated one in 20 children abused.

“More needs to be done to ensure victims who bravely speak out get the justice they deserve.”