Merseyside police apologise to alleged serious sexual assault victim

Merseyside police have apologised to the victim of a suspected sexual assault, after an officer told her there was little point investigating due to a lack of evidence.

Earlier this year the woman received a letter from a senior detective telling her despite providing a formal complaint. without any witnesses or CCTV, there'd be no realistic prospect of a prosecution.

Campaigners fear the case could deter victims from coming forward, with less than 2% of rapes recorded by police in England and Wales in 2020, resulting in a charge.

Merseyside Police gave us this statement :

Victims of sexual offences and rape have gone through traumatic ordeals that can leave psychological scars that can last a lifetime and it is only fitting they expect to be treated with empathy, respect and understanding from the moment they make that first call.

For that reason we are committed to ensuring that we fully support victims of rape and sexual offences, whilst preventing further offences from happening.

The issue raised at the beginning of the week has not been raised with us previously.

We have now been able to review the circumstances around this and sadly I can say that the victim did not receive the high level of service that the force expects and she deserved - this included a letter that did not demonstrate the level of sensitivity and empathy that we would expect.

A senior officer has spoken to the victim and apologised for any additional distress our response has caused and we are now working with her to ensure she gets the support she should have had from the beginning.

Following feedback from victims and survivors across Merseyside we have reviewed how we work with victims of rape and sexual assault have recently implemented revised vulnerability training which is based on a trauma informed service that is delivered with empathy and understanding. That training, which includes firsthand experience of a rape victim, will continue to take place over the coming year and will include frontline officers; control room staff; Response and Resolution responding officers; Investigation; Professional Standards and Local Policing.

Merseyside Police believes it is vital that victims of rape and sexual offences have the high level of service they deserve and in 2010 we set up the specialist Unity Team, which is dedicated to investigating and supporting victims of rape through the whole criminal justice process, from reporting the incident to seeing a case through the courts and beyond. Working with the victim specialist officers at Unity are able to ensure all crucial evidence can be presented to the court, maximising the chance of conviction.

As well as specialist police officers, the team also includes lawyers, specially trained officers (STOs) and detectives, and Unity works in partnership with independent sexual violence advisors (ISVAs), sexual assault referral centre crisis workers (SARC), and health professionals to provide the best possible service to victims.

They are supported by other officers working in our Protecting Vulnerable People Units across the force, who are also trained to deal with sexual offences which can include domestic settings and young people.

We have also ensured that constables in our Emergency Incident Response Team have an enhanced level of training in dealing with initial reports of sexual offences.

We wholly understand that when a victim comes forward to report an allegation of this nature that it can be painful and traumatic for them to recount the ordeal they have suffered.

I want to reassure anyone, who is a victim of rape or sexual abuse, that if they can find the strength to come forward and speak to us we will do everything we will do everything within our power to bring the offenders to justice.

Sadly, we know that rapes and sexual assaults can be under reported, and there are victims out there living in silence who need to come forward so we can find justice for them and refer them to specialist agencies so they can get the support they need. We need to keep looking at ways to encourage more reporting of what is still a hidden crime, and to encourage victims to stay involved throughout the criminal justice process.

I want to reassure anyone who has suffered this terrible ordeal that if they can find the strength to come forward and speak to us they will be supported with dignity and respect, and we will do everything we can to investigate their report so that offenders can be brought to justice.